In quest of identity: Patterns in the Spanish American essay of ideas, 1890-1960

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IN QUEST OF IDENTITY Patterns in the Spanish A merican Essay of Ideas, 1890-1960

M A R T I N S. ST A B B

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS CHAPEL HILL,

1967

ACK N OW L E D G M E N TS

SUPPORT FOR THIS STUDY CAME FROM TWO SOURCES.

IN

1962 the American Philosophical Society provided funds for the early stages of the work, especially for travel to libraries. At the same time the Research Council of the University of Missouri granted me a semester's leave in which to carry out the basic research.

This

same body has periodically given me additional support in the form of smaller grants to cover costs of typing, materials, travel, and miscellaneous expenses. This project could not have been success­

fully carried out without this aid and therefore I am deeply indebted to both the American Philosophical Society and the University of Missouri Research Council. My debt to individuals is also great, though somewhat more dif­ ficult to determine. Professors John A. Crow and the late Manuel Olguin, both of the University of California at Los Angeles, were my first mentors in the study of the Spanish American essay, and any contribution which I may have made to the field stems from their early encouragement. My debt to my own students is substantial, since a good portion of the material contained in this book was originally conceived during the give-and-take of a seminar in the

Spanish American essay which I regularly teach. Among my col­

leagues at the University of Missouri who have helped me I am

especially indebted to a good friend and severe critic, Professor R. E. McGrew of the Department of History, who read the entire text and made many valuable suggestions. Columbia, Missouri February, 1967 Copyright

1!:1 1967 by The University of North Carolina Press

Manufactured in the United State.� of America Printed by the Seeman Printery, Durham, N. C. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:

67-27160

Martin

S. Stabb

CON T E N T S

I

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

v

INTRODUCTION

3

II

THE SICK CONTINENT AND ITS DIAGNOSTICIANS

12

III

THE REVOLT AGAINST SCIENTISM

34

IV

AMERICA REDISCOVERED

58

v

THE NEW HUMANISM AND THE LEFT

102

VI

' ARGENTINA S QUEST FOR IDENTITY

146

VII

THE SEARCH FOR ESSENCE IN MEXICO AND

VIII

CONCLUSION

ELSEWHERE

182 218

BIBLIOGRAPHY

221

APPENDIX TO BIBLIOGRAPHY

230

INDEX

235

I

I I N T R O D UCT I O N

I

AS

THIS

STUDY

NEARS

COMPLETION,

SPANISH

AMERICA

continues in the midst of a profound revolution: a revolution whose ideological dimension is no less important than its economic, social, or political dimensions. In assessing this revolution those who are unfamiliar with the Hispanic world-Bspecially North Americans­ are quite likely to underestimate the intellectual forces at work just as they are likely to place too much importance on socio-economic

factors. The degree to which the intellectuals shape the destiny of different nations or regions varies greatly.

If we examined the

totality of a culture, different weights must be assigned to the com­ ponent parts; and in Spanish America the intellectual component­ the influence generated by teachers, philosophers, and men of letters -weighs much more heavily than it does in the United States. The point may be demonstrated in several ways.

Take, for

example, the universities and other institutions of higher learning. Hispanic America has relatively few such institutions and a relatively small percentage of highly educated men, yet the course of her history has been closely tied to the academic world.

The existence

of the "National University," an institution virtually alien to the North American mind, is extremely significant in this regard.

The

fact that in Spanish America university teaching has, until very recently, been considered a part-time occupation has made the relatively sharp North American distinction between the academic man and the man-of-affairs much less clear. Bank officials teach economics, practicing lawyers teach political science, and oddly enough postal administrators may teach literature or even phi­ losophy. The impact of student groups must also be taken into account in assessing the role of the universities in Spanish American life. In the first place these groups-with all their vigor, non-

4

5

Introduction

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

conformity, and political activism-seem to be more generally ac­

would seek public office.

cepted by the society as a whole than are their recent counterparts in

professor of political science and president of a great university

the United States.

The fact that Woodrow Wilson was

a

In the second place Spanish American student

before his election is usually treated as a curiosity in the context of

groups transcend the narrowly defined university environment in

American politics. In Spanish America, by contrast, the academic

that their members frequently continue to participate in the group's

titles of doctor or licenciate, or the fact that a man has written a good

activities long after completing their formal education. Given the nature of these organizations it is not surprising that their political

novel, are unquestionable assets for the political aspirant.

activism has often been translated into political power: witness the

fusion of general education in many countries, it is all too easy to

development of the important APRA (Aiianza Popular Revolucionaria

take advantage of the blind respect paid the academician or litter­

Americana) party growing out of Peru's student-led university reform

ateur.

movement of 1919, or the recent and dramatic events in Cuba which

Under­

standably this situation has a negative side: given the limited dif­

But whether the well-educated man uses his privileged

position for good or evil is beside the point.

The fact remains that

had their beginnings in what the casual observer in the late forties

his activities as a writer, philosopher, professor, or poet do not dis­

must have considered just another typical movimiento estudiantil at

qualify him for an active part in determining his nation's destiny;

the University of Havana.

rather, they enhance his chances of playing such a role.

The weight of the intellectual sector within the totality of Spanish

To return to my original point, this study deals with the intel­

American culture is impressively demonstrated by noting the con­

lectual expression of what may rightfully be considered a genuine

siderable number of thinkers and literary men who have gained high

revolution. I shall attempt to trace this movement as it manifests

office in these nations.

The contrast with the United States is

itself in a Spanish American literary genre particularly sensitive to

This nation· did not elect or propose Horace Mann as

ideological battles, the essay. The time span to be covered will be

striking.

president, yet Argentina did make the essayist and educational

roughly seventy years-from the last decade of the nineteenth

theorist, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, its chief executive. Would

century through the first six decades of the twentieth.

anyone in the United States have thought seriously of proposing a

we begin, the revolution itself and the milieu which produced it must

writer of regional novels and social protest such as Steinbeck as a

be examined briefly.

But before

presidential candidate? Unlikely, yet it was just such a man-the

Stated in very general terms, this ideological revolt was directed

celebrated novelist R6mulo Gallegos-who was elected president of

against that view of human affairs which holds that the totality of

Venezuela in 1946. North American readers may be surprised to

man's existence may be empirically analyzed and

learn that Victor Raul Haya de Ia Torre, one of the leading candi­

Under attack too was the corollary idea that the individual and the

dates in the Peruvian presidential election of 1962, is an essayist of

society may be technologically manipulated. The revolutionaries,

understood.

hemispheric repute who has published serious papers on such esoteric

by contrast, affirmed that human affairs are highly problematical,

themes as the relationship of Einsteinian relativity to the philosophy

that they are suffused with contingency and the unpredictable, that

They might also be surprised to learn that Juan Bosch,

the rational-scientific approach to the world of nature has only

former president of the Dominican Republic and of late the center of

limited value in explaining the human condition. They found-and

of history.

political controversy in the Caribbean, was a short story writer of

are continuing to find-that man cannot readily be defined, that his

considerable stature long before his name graced the Associated

being cannot be made to "stand out" from a clearly discernible

Of course not all Spanish American presidents

background: in short, that man has great difficulties in viewing him­

Press wire services.

or other governmental leaders have been writers and intellectuals:

self as simply another object in nature.

by the same token North America has had an occasional Jefferson or

scientific-rationalist approach to the human condition, Spanish

Wilson in public life.

greater relative number of intellectuals in Spanish American public

American intellectuals reacted sharply against certain of its specific manifestations: positivism, bourgeois liberalism, and the belief in

life, as compared with North America, there is in the lands to the

progress, understood as the unending increase in man's well-being

South a different popular attitude toward the man of letters who

through technology.

Nonetheless I believe that in addition to the

In their rejection of the

6

7

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Introduction

To this point I have been describing what the revolutionaries were trying to destroy. But with what could they fill the ideological vacuum that they had helped to create? Hopefully this question will be answered in the main body of this study. A tentative reply may, nonetheless, be helpful here. The writers whom we shall soon meet were searching for a radically different approach to the prob­ lem of man-some new way of looking at him which would, on the one hand, grant him autonomy from both the determinism of science and the constrictions of theology and, on the other, would exalt and liberate the uniquely human aspects of his nature: his creativity and his emotive life. In this search they have not been alone. Indeed the Spanish American expression of this movement is only one man­ ifestation of a general ideological revolution which is still in progress throughout the Western world. Granted the wide diffusion of this revolution and admitting its European roots, what is the rationale for its study within the Hispanic American context? Aside from its obvious value in helping us understand contemporary Spanish America, there are, I feel, other good reasons. One of these lies in the fact that the region occupies a uniquely "intermediate" position in today's world: Spanish America's traditions and her historic trajectory are not as fixed as those of western Europe, while her sense of identity is not as ill defined as that of the very new "emergent" nations. A number of Spanish American writers have sensed the import of this situation and have suggested that the continent's unique destiny is to serve as a bridge between the highly developed sector of the world and the "new" countries of Asia and Mrica. They feel, moreover, that Spanish America's ethnic complexity and her experience in dealing with Europe and North America have served to qualify her especially well for this role. In short they suggest that in the process of solving her own problems Spanish America may provide new solutions to the problems facing all twentieth-century men regardless of race or nation. Our view of Spanish America opens upon the fading years of the nineteenth century. What strikes the eye first is the vigor and pros­ perity of the major cities. The situation was most dramatic in the South: Buenos Aires-called La gran aldea (the overgrown hamlet) -only a few years earlier had bypassed the 300,000 mark and was rapidly becoming a true metropolis. Italian, English, Yiddish, and German spiced and corrupted the Spanish of her founders. Financed to a great extent by British capital, the railroad network each year penetrated deeper into the rich heartland of the country. Two weeks'

work in the New World would pay the way for an immigrant's third class passage to the Rio de la Plata. For a time the Argentine government itself paid the new immigrants' passage. In Mexico City, the northern focus of Spanish American activity, a similar spirit was in evidence. If fewer Europeans were immigrating, then Mexicans would create their own Europe high on their lovely plateau. And so, under the leadership of the sometimes-benevolent dictator Porfirio Dlaz, Mexico City was rebuilt along decidedly Parisian lines: the tree-lined, monumental Paseo de la Reforma would be the Mexican Champs Elysees, and the Chapultepec park would be known as the bosque of Chapultepec, echoing the French Bois de Boulogne. And if Paris was the cite lumiere, then Mexico would be the first fully electrified city of Spanish America. In addition to the impressive campaign for beautification and electrification, the last decades of the century saw great progress in railroad construction (financed mostly by foreign capital), in the draining of the swampy Valley of Mexico, and in the beginnings of the petroleum industry. The value of exports increased steadily and agricultural production soared. Foreign investors came to consider Mexico, with her glit­ tering land, mining, and plantation ventures, as the new realm of El Dorado. A small but influential class of newly rich occupied the very comfortable homes lining the Paseo and other fashionable bulevares. Many members of this new class held important official and semi-official positions among Dlaz' inner circle of advisers-the celebrated cientificos: hard-headed "men of science" who professed the tenets of French positivism; or stated more accurately, the Mexicanized version of Comtian thought, generously augmented by the social organicism of Herbert Spencer and the latter-day Dar­ winists. Like Buenos Aires and Mexico City, other urban areas reflected in varying degrees the period's material well-being and passion for cosmopolitanism. The sober white-collar worker of Valparaiso or Santiago might, for example, affect the briar pipe and tweeds of the many Britishers who ran Chile's important coal and shipping in­ dustries; while the more volatiie, more "typically Latin" young man of Caracas or Lima fell naturally into the stereotype of the Parisian boulevardier of the belle epoque. The over-all pattern was, however, essentially the same in all of the continent's major cities. Despite an occasional set-back-such as the Argentine depression of 1890-in every large urban center the bywords of the time were progress, prosperity, optimism, and Europeanization.

8

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Introduction

The contrast provided by the smaller towns and the country was striking. The traditional Hispanic pattern of land tenure, main­ tained by the custom of primogeniture and fortified by nineteenth­ century laissez-faire economic politics, served to exaggerate the endemic problem of the inequitable distribution of wealth. Mexico's case is one of the more dramatic: during the Dlaz era (1877-1910) the value of exports skyrocketed and basic commodity prices trebled, while the jornal-the basic wage of the agricultural worker or day laborer--remained virtually unchanged. The Indian and near-Indian masses of the Andean countries (Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador) fared no better. In the Rio Plate countries there were perhaps more crumbs falling from the banquet table of progress and prosperity, yet not many miles away from the bustle of Buenos Aires or Rosario, the "new Gauchos"-Italians, Basques, even eastern European Jews-lived in primitive huts and eked out a precarious existence as sharecroppers or marginal cattlemen on the fringe of the great estancias of the wealthy. And in the far Northwest of Argentina Indians still worked the overlord's sugar plantations within a socio­ economic system ·more reminiscent of Spanish colonial days than of the dawning twentieth century. Even more striking than the economic gulf which separated the rising metropolis from the backlands was the radically different way of life, the radically different attitudes and tastes of city dweller compared with country dweller. Perhaps nowhere in that portion of the world where European languages were spoken was this contrast greater than in late nineteenth-century Spanish America. In the country-and here we must include many of the smaller provincial cities as well as the strictly rural areas-illiteracy was the mle rather than the exception; the church's educational and psychological hold on the people remained unchallenged; the language retained its purity and casticidad (indeed it often reflected archaisms of the Conqueror's day); and except for periodic check-ups on his foreman, or for an occasional fling with a naive country girl, the well-to-do landholder made certain that the greater part of his life would be spent with his cronies in the national capital-or better, in Paris, London, or Rome. Intellectuals and creative men fled the hinterland at the first opportunity; and in those countries where the dust of the provinces stifled even the atmosphere of the national capital, they crossed borders and succumbed to the magnetic attraction of the great metropolises. Thus Mexico City became an intellectual center not only for Mexicans, but for Guatemalans, Nicaraguans, and

Dominicans as well. Similarly the Rio Plate drained an intellectual wa te rshed of even greater size than its hydrographic area: for many Bolivian, Paraguayan, and Uruguayan writers, success in Buenos Aires became the diploma of literary achievement. The literary activity of the larger cities contrasted with that of the country as the elegant English Brougham contrasted with rural oxcarts or burros. While the backlanders read catechism, the pre­ tentious but dull diario de provincia, or the tired lyrics of Spanish romanticism, the urban literati might sample Baudelaire, Leconte de Lisle, Zola, and the Goncourts. The more sophisticated could dabble in Oscar Wilde or perhaps the Russian novelists. Instead of religious orthodoxy they might expose themselves to Comte, Spencer, James, or Nietzsche. They could journey to France by boat or by book, and upon returning they could gather in clubs and cafes to establish their own literary movement: modernismo. Amidst the glitter of cosmopolitan society, surrounded by an ever-increasing array of mechanical marvels, and surfeited with the century's material abundance, they could forget the crumbling streets of the provincial towns, the smell of the cane fields at dusk, the tired resignation in the eyes of the negrita or chola, heavy with the child of the senorita. But could they? The vogue of cosmopolitan modernismo was of short duration; and only barely hidden amidst the well­ chiseled lines of its most famous exponents there was, I think, a strong current of dissatisfaction. There is a thinly veiled mood of desperation in their escape to a world of Parnassian statuary, of formal gardens, and of decadent aristocrats. At times this under­ lying desperation came to the surface. Ruben Darfo, often con­ sidered the initiator of modernismo, could be as embittered a critic of the bourgeois order as any ardent radical. Witness his short prose piece of 1888, "El rey burgues" ("The Bourgeois King"), in which the gross, insensitive monarch forces the poet to prostitute his art by becoming a mechanical organ grinder. A general tone of aliena­ tion, of being out of joint with the times, is evident in the work of virtually all the modernistas. In their escapism they seem to have sensed, albeit dimly, that their literary efforts were in some way inauthentic, that they were failing to face the enigma of their own identity, and that in severing the umbilical cord which joined them to the land and the common folk, they had cut themselves off from what might well be their richest source of creative nourishment. In much of the modernista poetry there is a kind of tiredness, a pose perhaps of world-weary ennui. The poets seem to be saying that

9

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Inlroduction

the progress and prosperity of the times really did not impress them

of doubt, a degree of skepticism, and a tendency on the part of the

10

greatly.

They appear to be imprisoned in a golden cage of their mvn

making, waiting to be transformed into a more ethereal substance and so, to escape.

Thus Dario will have his princesa dream of flying

off on the winged horse of her mythical Prince Charming, while Dario's contemporary, the essayist Jose Enrique Rod6, will choose Ariel, Shakespeare's "aeyrie spirit," as his ideological mentor. This undercurrent of intellectual restlessness was further strength­ ened by specific political events.

Foremost among these was the

author to consider more than one side of a given question.

11

Given the

nature of the issues confronting Spanish America at this period, it is

no wonder th�t her writers should turn to the gPnrP par excellence of tentatives and alternatives. The present book should be thought of as a series of interrelated studies, each of which centers on one general theme characteristic of a given group, decade, or generation of writers. It is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of the contemporary Spanish American

emergence of the United States as a strong and aggressive power

essay as a literary genre.

whose vigorous culture and whose political ambitions threatened

clusion and another's exclusion is the degree to which each man's

My basic criterion for one essayist's in­

Spanish America's very existence.

The defeat of Spain in 1898

ideas are germane to the theme under consideration. As is frequently

underscored this insecurity and fear: given the obvious decadence

the case when dealing with writers whom Spanish Americans dub

of the mother country, what chance for success might her childeren

pensadores, a number of the figures studied are essayists in only the

expect? These doubts were further aggravated by the peculiar state

broadest sense of the term.

of Spanish America's economic order. As we have seen, the wealth

others historians, while a few are, in their own fashion, philosophers.

Some are amateur social scientists,

and well-being of the large cities was accompanied by misery and

Likewise, a number of major literary figures who have cultivated the

backwardness in vast areas of the interior. Spanish American in­

essay have been entirely omitted or only briefly noted.

tellectuals were becoming increasingly aware of the specious nature

have a professional interest in Spanish American literature may be

of the continent's prosperity and of the need for radical programs of

surprised to find relatively little material dealing with questions of

economic amelioration.

Yet they could not look toward the United

States for a model of material betterment, since they quite under­ standably viewed yanqui culture as alien and threatening.

Though

the Hispanic intellectual saw the need for a better economic order in his continent, he distrusted the North American's pursuit of success, his worship of progress, and his insensitivity to the world of the aesthetic. Stated somewhat differently, many Spanish American intellectuals found themselves in an ambivalent position: although they wished that their region might enjoy the material bounty of the dawning twentieth century, they distrusted the world of tech­ nology and progress-particularly as embodied in the culture of North America, the coloso del Norte, as it came to be called.

Most of

all, they feared that in attempting to emulate the "advanced" countries, they would lose their own identity, their own unique-if yet not fully developed-manner of being. To sum up, at the turn of the century Spanish America found herself confronted by complex choices of ideological orientation as well as by pressing problems of self-discovery and self-definition. These concerns crept into all manifestations of her literary life, bnt it was the essayists who expressed them most directly.

The essay,

faithful to its creator, Montaigne, characteristically reveals a thread

style or literary structure.

Those who

Moreover, I have not sought to place the

writers' studies within the usual framework of chronologically ordered literary periods.

In short, though I am concerned with the

essay as a vehicle of expression, the focus of this study lies more in the area of ideas-of intellectual history set against the backdrop of the total culture-than it does in the area of literature per se.

The Sick Continent

II

ITHE

S ICK CO N T IN E N T

A N D IT S D IA G N OS T ICIA N S

IT IS DIFFI�ULT TO APPRECIATE THE EXTENT TO WH�CH

science set the course of Spanish American intellectual life during the closing decades of the past century. The philosophic embodi­ ment of the scientific attitude, positivism, not only dominated the thought of the perio
13

vigorous and ambitious Anglo-Saxon certainly disturbed the Hispanic world. The popular min d undoubtedly saw in the defeat of a swarthy southern "race" by a blue-eyed northern "race" a good example of the triumph of a "more fit" people over an "inferior" group. Thus it is understandable that during the decade immediately following the conflict many Spanish American writers should analyze political and social problems by means of the intellectual apparatus which social organicism and such race-centered theories as linguistic paleontology or anthroposociology might provide.1 From the latter movements they acquired notions of Nordic or "Aryan" superiority along with the inevitable idea of the natural inferiority of "southern" peoples-Latins, Negroes, and non-Europeans in general. From the social organicists they adopted the concept of society as a living, growing organism, and thus subject to disease which Inight inhibit normal development. If something was wrong with the society, then the vocabulary of the times demanded that it be called a "sickness." A glance at the titles of a number of essays of the period bears this point out. In 1899 the Argentinian Agustin Alvarez published his Manual de patologia politica; in the same year a pamphlet titled El continente enfermo was published in New York by the Venezuelan, Cesar Zumeta; several years later in 1905, another Argentinian, Manuel Ugarte, wrote his Enfermedades sociales; while the Bolivian Alcides Arguedas, produced his famous Pueblo enfermo in 1909. Regardless of the fact that the fundamental tenets of these writers may differ widely,2 the similarity of what one critic has dubbed the "surgical" approach to the continent's problem, is striking. This attitude is not confined to the above essayists. In the work of the --

,,,

1. Anthroposociology, a mo.vement which began in th_e 1880's an� contin�ed thro�gh . the first decade of the twentieth century, concerned Itself pnncipally wrth relatmg the social and cultural development of peoples to their bi?logical "r�ce." .The anthroposociologists apparently took for granted that a defimte correlation existe_d . th�ry _find therr between physical groupings and cultures. Modern students of racial . methodology poor, their assumptions unfounded, a�d much_ of therr thinking to be heavily la�en with gross racism. The myth_ of Arya, r;Ism (�e�ved fro�, �he �alf;;truths of linguistic paleontology), and ad hoc notions of supenor versus mfer_wr races often appear in the writing of the movement's leaders: Vacher d� Lapouge_ m France, Otto Ammon and E. Gumplowicz in Germany, and C.�- �loss�n m the Umted States. Although these men have virtually been forgotten, therr Ideas mfluenc�d a nu�ber of better known sociological thinkers, particularly in France. For more mfor�at10n on anthroposociology and its influence see Jacques Ba;zun, Race: A Study tn !Jodern Superstition (New York, 1937), pp. 218-22; and Louis L. Snyder, Race, A Htstory of Modern Ethnic Theories (New York, 1934), pp. 164-68. 2. Ugarte, by way of example, was a devoted Socialist, wher�as Ar��das a _member ! of a wealthy landholding family, supported decidedly conservative J?OSitions I� IdeC!Iogr, and practical politics. Furthermore, the fact that all of these wnters use surgrcal terminology does not make their views of race-the focus of the present chapter­ necessarily identical.

14

IN

The Sick Continent

QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentinian C. 0. Bunge, Nuestra America (1903), the "clinical"

15

powerless to alter fundamental group traits. 5 As one might expect

approach is very evident, as it is in much of the thought of Peru's

he divides mankind into a neat hierarchy of superior and inferior

Francisco Garcfa Calderon.

More often than not, in the thinking of

races,with the European naturally on top. Moreover, this superiority

these writers, the unhealthy virus producing the illness was to be

is physical, intellectual, emotional, and even moral. 6 Consistent with

found in the racial make-up of the population. What is not under consideration here-and the point must be emphasized-are questions of racial relations and racial prejudices among Spanish America's masses. That the common people remained generally uncontami­ nated by the racism of these writers is, I think, clear; but a discussion of this point lies outside the scope of our study. In addition to the generalized influence of social evolutionism and anthroposociology, certain specific European sources may be detected in the work of this group of essayists.

Of the popular

European "raciologists" of the period, the French social psychologist, Gustave Le Bon appears to have exerted a particularly strong in­

his basic views, he maintains that education can never transform a member of an "inferior" race into the equal of the white man: the Negro who is, for example, given all the advantages of a European education will only acquire the superficial veneer of the superior race: "this negro may accumulate all the diplomas in the world without ever reaching the level of an average European. "7 On the crucial question of miscegenation, an almost verbatim echoing of Le Bon is evident in many Spanish American essayists.

The core of the French

thinker's position is that the product of racial mixing will always be inferior to the parent stocks. He claims that miscegenated groups

fluence. A few passages from his then popular work, the Lois psy­

suffer a "disassociation" of character and morality, that they are

(1894), will serve to establish

incapable of creating or maintaining a culture, and that what society

the intellectual atmosphere in which Bunge, Arguedas, and Garcia

they do have is "degenerate" or "anarchic. "8 In his discussion of

chologiques de l'evolution des peuples

Calder6n wrote.

·

les met1"s Le Bon was chiefly concerned with the mixture of whites

The key concept in Le Bon's raciology is his notion of the "national soul": Each race possesses a psychic constitution as fixed as its anatomical constitution. . . . . . . close examination reveals that the majority of individuals of a given race have a number of common psychological traits which are as stable as the anatomical traits that permit us to classify species. Like these traits,psychological characteristics are regularly and faithfully reproduced through heredity. This aggregate . . . constitutes what may justifiably be called the national character. 3 The relationship between the national soul and social organicism is also basic: "A race may be compared to the mass of cells that con­ stitute a living being.

and Negroes: significantly, when he sought concrete illustrations for his theories he turned to the Caribbean: "All of these republics,

These billions of cells have a very short

existence, whereas the existence of the being formed by their union is relatively long. "4 Most important, Le Bon firmly believed that the "racial character," the "national soul," or simply the "nature" of a given race was immutable.

He repeatidly asserts that the

rnilieu--,-whether it be thought of in terms of the physical environ­ ment, political institutions, or any other circonstance exterieure-is 3. Gustave Le Bon, Lois psychologiques de l'evolution des peuples (9" ed.; Paris 1909), pp. 9-10. 4. Ibid., p. 12.

without a single exception, are perpetually prey to the most bloody anarchy, and, despite the impressive wealth of their soil, one after another they flounder amidst all kinds of corruption, insolvency, and despotism." 9 One of the most complete raciological analyses of Hispanic America to appear in this century was Nuestra America (1903) by the Argentinian, Carlos Octavio Bunge (1875-1918). Bunge's metho­ dology-his fundamental scientism, his manipulation of Le Bonian ideas, and his frequent reliance on social organicism-provides a valuable point of departure for our investigation of the sick continent and its diagnosticians.

The route which Bunge's thinking will follow

is indicated early in his book: "What I would call the practical objective in this work is to describe, with all its vices and in all its forms, the politics of Spanish America.

In order to understand this,

I must first investigate the collective psychology which produces it.

5. Ibid., pp. 174-75.

6. Ibid., pp. 24-33.

7. Ibid., p. 33. 8. Ibid., p. 45. 9. Ibid., pp. 114-115.

16

17

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Sick Continent

And, to know this psychology I shall first analyze the races which make up the native Spanish American."10

leadership or of artistic creativity. His typical traits are "servility

The first of the races to be analyzed is the Spanish. He finds that the "dominant quality" of this group is arrogance, the origin of which "is lost in the darkness of prehistory, because it is found more in geography than in race."11 Although geography seems to be given priority over race, Bunge notes that this arrogance is evident even today in the American of Spanish descent, as well as in the

peninsulares.12

His thinking is typically racist here: an acquired

trait persists "in the blood" although the historical and geographical agents which originally produced it no longer prevail. Bunge next analyzes the distinct regional groups of Spain. Finding the Castilians

Negro has not invented anything, he is not capable of intellectual and vanity."17 That Bunge believes the Negro to be inferior, or at best undesirable, is clearly shown in a number of other instances: on

one occasion he states that the sexual temperament of the African renders him less "virtuous" than the European ;18 at another point in

Nuestra America he

expresses approval of the "logic"of the North

American attitude toward this race;19 and in discussing the early years of Spanish American independence, he is apparently shocked

that the equalitarian-minded revolutionaries went to such extremes as erecting statues of Negroes in public squares.20

Similarly, his

characterization of the mulatto plainly reveals his utter disdain for

to be the dominant force in shaping the "national soul," he asks:

this group: "Impulsive, perfidious, petulant, the mulatto is a com­

imposed his own standard of purity

and as fickle as a woman, and, like a woman, like a degenerate, like a

"Why is it that the Castilian has formed a particular breed and has

[casticidad]?

This gives rise to. a

most difficult historical problem: that of the origin of one group's d01ninance, that of innate preponderance, of original supremacy...."13

He resolves this problem in terms of a rather simplistic social Dar­

winism: among contetiding "sub-races" the fittest survive and their doinination "is the mark of their superiority ... imposed upon the weak groups, the dominated ones."4 �

In addition to Castilian ar­

rogance and "innate superiority,"Bunge discusses several other traits

which the Spanish American has inherited from the mother country. Most important among these is a sense of Christian piety and morality, which he finds existing in present day Spanish Americans

plex amalgam of the Spanish and African spirit .... He is as touchy devil himself, he apsires to be strong, but is necessarily weak .... He lacks personal valor. In dangerous situations he has difficulty

in overcoming his fear; but by means of tricks and fraud, he can

escape his enemy with reptilian undulations."1 2 The mestizo hardly fares better. He is accused of "rapacity," of intensifying and ag­ gravating the Spaniard's arrogance, and of having a love for bru­ tality inherited from his Indian ancestors. In short, both the

mestizo and mulatto reflect the worst of their parent stocks: "Both

impure, both atavistically anti-Christian, they are like the two heads of a mythical Hydra which encircles, constricts, and strangles in its

of pure European stock as "innate"characteristics.16

gigantic coils, a beautful and pale virgin: Hispanic America !"22

Spanish America's racial composition, his deeply engrained racism is

calls the "Darwinian theory of hybridization"-lead him to the

and "oriental fatalism," and these traits account for the Spaniards'

man, or, at least an ancient and pre-Christian man. And all this,

When Bunge turns his attention to the nonwhite elements in

very apparent. The Indian, he feels, is characterized by "passivity"

Bunge's views on atavism -attributed, incidentally, to what he

conclusion that "the mestizo tends to reproduce a kind of primitive

easy conquest of the Indian empires of Peru and Mexico.16 The

naturally, in a very general way, with, as we shall see, many Initiga­

sideration of the validity of the concept of superior versus inferior

atavism and degeneration of the hybrid Bunge pinpoints several

Negro receives similar treatment. After a brief moment's con­

races, he proceeds to analyze the "positive facts" regarding the Negro's attainments. These he finds to be entirely lacking: the 10. Carlos Octa.vio Bunge, Nuestra America: Ensayo de psicologia social (6• ed.; Buenos Aires, 1918), p. 49. 11. Ibid., p. 59. 12. Ibid., p. 61. 13. Ibid., p. 101. 14. Ibid., p. 53. 15.Ibid., p. 189. 16. Ibid., p. 123.

ting circumstances and logical exceptions .. ."23 In describing the .

unfortunate traits: "psychic inharmony," sterility, and lack of a moral sense.24 A basic assumption underlying this very unfavorable 17. Ibid., 18. Ibid., 19. Ibid., 20. Ibid., 21. Ibid., 22.Ibid., 23.Ibid., 24. Ibid.,

p. 136. pp. 146-47. p. 136. p. 133. p. 148. p. 149. p. 139. p. 141.

18

19

JN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Sick Continent

view of the hybrid is "psychophysical correlation." Like Paul Broca and the anthroposociologists of the nineteenth century, Bunge

which still leads us .. . toward pernicious Utopias,"30 Bunge suggests the remedy of "the POSITIVE STUDY of history, politics, economics,

accepts this correlation at face value when he writes "every one who is physically a mestizo . . . is morally a mestizo. "25 Having established these fundamental concepts regarding the non-European, Bunge analyzes the effects of Negro and Indian blood upon the political and social structure of the continent. He ap­ parently feels that the sine qua non of modern society is "a sense of morality ... the fruit of Christianity."26 This sense, which Bunge maintains exists in the European as innate and inherited, is lacking in the colored races; hence the great mass of nonwhite Spanish Americans are simply incapable of distinguishing good from evil.27 In addition to this general lack of morality in Spanish American life and politics, a number of other social and political defects are credited to "bad blood." Bunge feels, for example, that the servility and fatalism of the Indian and Negro account for the fact that many countries are particularly susceptible to caciquismo (political bossism). Anticipating objections to this notion, Bunge finds it necessary to explain away the fact that "European" Argentina had herself been dominated for two decades by one of Spanish America's most in­ famous caciques, Juan Manuel Rosas: "The susceptibility to domi­ nation by a cacique of Spanish American nations is in inverse pro­ portion to European blood. Thus the tyranny of Rosas in Buenos Aires-the most European part of Spanish America-was also the bloodiest in her history."2s If one accepts this hastily contrived explanation of Argentine history and agrees with Bunge regarding the cacicabilidad of pop­ ulations dmninated by mixed blood, it follows that the republican form of government is, as Bunge states, "suitable only for the purest of European races."29 Thus, for most of Spanish America, faith in democracy is held to be an unfortunate carryover from the equali­ tarianism of the French Revolution. Against this "cursed disease 25. Ibid., p. 140. Paul Broca was a prominent French anthropologist and a con­ temporary of Darwin. Coincidentally, Broca founded the Anthropological Society of Paris in 1859, the same year that the Origin of the Species appeared. Broca's group devoted itself chiefly to anthropometries-the precise measurement of the human anatomy, particularly the skull. In general, the Paris Society remained aloof from the theories of evolutionism. For further discussion of Broca and his group see Barzun, Race, pp. 159-61. 26. Bunge, Nuestra Ammca, p. 146. 27. Ibid. 28. Ibid., pp. 247-48. 29. Ibid., p. 246.

and sociology."31 As a good example of the proper manner of achieving progress in a nation dominated by non-European peoples, he applauds the "scientific" positivism of the Diaz regime in Mexico.32 A book such as Nuestra America would have little appeal to pres­ ent-day Spanish Americans. The author's racism is only the outward manifestation of attitudes which run counter to contemporary thought and sensibility. The most striking feature of Bunge's view of the New World (at least the Hispanic portion of it) is that it cannot measure up to what he considers the only culture worthy of emulation, the European. Equally unacceptable to modern thinkers is his pretentious "scientific" manipulation of human masses and his disinclination to deal with the individual. The complete falseness of his "objective" positivistic pose is frequently revealed by violent, impassioned outbursts against specific groups, particularly the mulatto and mestizo. In short, the scientism of Carlos Octavio Bunge is in sharp opposition to the ever-increasing humanism characteristic of contemporary Spanish American writers. It is not surprising that Bolivia, a country almost totally peopled

by Indians and mestizos, has produced much literature on the nativist theme. Alcides Arguedas ( 1879-1946), who shows this interest in his novels Wautu-Wauru (1904) and in his better known Raza de bronce ( 1919), has written several essays dealing with the Andean region and its inhabitants. The best known of these works is the essay Pueblo enfermo (1909) in which Arguedas discusses the Indian, the mestizo, and questions of race at considerable length. Of interest too is his Danza de las sombras ( 1934), a rambling col­ lection of travel notes and personal memoirs, most of which were written well before the book's date of publication. Like Bunge, Arguedas undertakes the investigation of his region's problems with a desire for a realistic, "surgical," hardhead approach. In keeping with this spirit, he urges his compatriots to face the facts of national backwardness and political chaos directly: "we must agree, frankly, vigorously, and directly, that we are sick; or rather, that we have been born sick and that our total collapse may be certain."aa The causes of this sickness are then sketched out in 30. Ibid., p. 264. 31. Ibid. 32. Ibid., p. 308. . . 1 • 33. Alcides Arguedo.s, Pueblo enfermo (3.,• ed.; Santtago de Chile, 1937), p. 1·6

20

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

broad terms: "Heredity, lack of culture, laziness, and poverty; here you have in summation the real underlying causes of the sickness of our countries ...."34 Arguedas traces the ills of the Andean coun­ tries (the phrase "our countries" here and throughout the book in­ dicates that his attention is not directed solely to Bolivia) to both "inheritance" and environmental forces: lack of culture, poverty, etc. A basic problem in analyzing the thought of Arguedas-and of others like him-revolves about the sense in which "heredity" is used in reference to group traits. A writer who ascribes qualities or defects of a people to "the Spanish heritage"or "the Indian heritage" may mean either that such traits have been culturally transmitted­ passed on by custom and tradition-or that they are actually in­ herited biologically-"in the blood," as it were. An examination of this question in Arguedas' essays is the first step toward un?er­ standing his view of Spanish American reality. Arguedas' characterization of the Indian occupies an important place in this analysis. The native American, he asserts, "carries in his blood" a marked lack of foresight; he possesses an "atrophied" aesthetic sense; and the Indians' willingness to die in battle "comes to the poor unfortunates by heredity."36 Although these traits are apparently considered innate in the American native, a few other characteristics are ascribed to environmental conditioning. In an early chapter of the Pueblo enfermo, for example, Arguedas main­ tains that the hypocrisy and deceit of the Indian was developed as a defense mechanism against the brutality of the conqueror.36 In a similar manner, the Indian of today finds that feigned stupidity affords him an escape from distasteful work.37 Arguedas discusses the Bolivian mestizo, or choloat great length. Significantly, this group fares considerably worse in his view than does the pure Indian. Speaking of alcoholism and laziness, he asserts that while there is some justification in the Indian's being a sluggard and drinker, these vices are found in the cholosimply "by inclination. "38 Arguedas' over-all characterization of the cholostresses his "atavistic" traits, though the

Bolivian writer does concede him a degree of

intelligence and an "enviable" ability to adapt to his environment. Moreover, "he is generous, intelligent, and considerate...." Having taken brief note of the few good cholocharacteristics, Arguedas goes 34. Ibid., p. 180.

35.Alcides Arguedas, La danza de las sombras (Barcelona, 1934), II, 271. 36.Arguedas, Pueblo enfermo, p. 51. 37.Arguedas, La danza, II, 350. 38. Ibid., p. 345.

The Sick Continent

21

on to present the catalogue of his faults. These include a lack of sense of duty, a lack of discipline, bellicosity, egocentrism, vanity, hypocrisy, servility, and lack of loyalty.39 Given this Yiew of mestizo character, it is not difficult to predict how Arguedas will "explain" his region's social and political short­ comings. In language reminiscent of Bunge he states that "mestizo blood" has molded society to the point that "we are burdened with impudence, cheating, falseness, and other evils which unavoidably turn man aside from the pursuit of moral perfection, the highest goal of life."40 It is to miscegenation that Bolivia owes its slow development of democratic institutions;-41 it is because of a "certain uniqueness in the Indo-Hispanic character"that the people lean too heavilyupon the state for all their needs;and, had Indian blood not predominated in his country's racial composition, Bolivia would have adopted "all kinds of moral and material advances, and would be today at the same level as many of the more favored nations."42 Again Bunge may be recalled when Arguedas states that "with mestizos and cholos one cannot utilize institutions made for pure­ blooded and thoroughly educated peoples."43 We note here that democratic institutions are practicable among peoples of "pure" blood andwho have been prepared by a long period of education for such institutions. Once again, the environment as well as the purely biological inheritance are given as two causes producing one situa­ tion, and the relative importance of one against the other is difficult to determine. On occasion Arguedas will consider geography and climate from a rigidly environmental point of view. A host of regional chliracter­ istics are explained in this manner. Owing to the "harshness and aridity of the wilderness" the highlander of the Andes is "tough, spiteful, egoistical, cruel, vindictive, and jealously hateful."" Fur­ thermore, as a result of the bleakness of the inter-Andean plateaus, the Aymara Indian is cheerless, unimaginative, and unpoetic.45 In the tropical regions, by contrast, one may find "a race made more gentle by the climate ... (whose) members lead a tranquil, affable, pleasant life" and who appear "helpful and obliging toward stran39.Arguedas, Pueblo enfermo, pp. 57, 62-63. 40. Ibid., p. 218. 41. Ibid., p. 90. 42.Ibid., p. 32. 43.Arguedas, La danza, II, 83. 44. Arguedas, Pueblo enfermo, p. 36. 45. Ibid., pp. 34-35.

22

23

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Sick Continent

gers."46 Despite these desirable qualities, a truly tropical climate

the typical attitude of the landholder : the national welfare will

has a fundamentally bad effect on a group ; for in such an environ­ ment life is too easy and man is not forced to provide for future periods of scarcity.

One might suppose that since Arguedas accepts

this kind of analysis, the Indian or cholo of the high, barren, rela­ tively cold Andean plateaus would, by contrast, be considered a model of industry and activity. However, Arguedas refrains from

best be served by educating the Indian and cholo to a point at which his maximum potential as an agricultural worker or soldier is reached. That Arguedas sincerely believed that the non-European was in­ capable of going beyond this point is implicit throughout his think­ ing, regardless of his occasional expressions of faith in education.

carrying his reasoning to this kind of conclusion ; in keeping 'vith the pessimistic tone of much of his thinking he prefers to point out only

The theory that miscegenation produces degeneracy and the complementary notion that racial purity leads to a superior culture occupies a central place in Arguedas' thought. Here again a paral­

the undesirable interpretation of a given situation. To what extent can the cultural environment--education, in particular-counteract undesirable traits produced by physical en­

lelism with Bunge may be observed ; as in the case of the Argentine writer, terms such as "atavism" and "degeneration" are frequently found in Arguedas' discussion of the mestizo. Significantly, Argue­

vironment and "innate" racial characteristics? In short, can the

das' position on these questions remained essentially unmodified throughout his career as a writer. As we shall see, much of the theorizing which found in miscegenation the causa causarum of the

pueblo enfermo be cured of its ills? At least in his later writings, Arguedas expresses confidence in the ability of education to erase, or at least to modify, these negative qualities. He notes that it is fruitless to blame Bolivia's geography for her backwardness, and that the troubles of the region .are not simply a result of the "mental insuf­ ficiency" of the race. He thus concludes that "the great national problem is primarily . . . pedagogical. "47 This view represents Ar­ guedas' thinking in the year 1934 ; earlier, in the first edition of

Pueblo enfermo, while asserting that the Indian is capable of being educated, he holds that such training must be limited to the native's immutable tempC)rament ; that while he may make an excellent soldier or farmer, he will always be "incapable of anything requiring initiative." And as late as 1937, in the third edition of this same

continent's ills was of relatively short duration; few writers of recent decades have held to racistic interpretations of Spanish American reality. However, as late as 1937, in the third edition of the Pueblo enfermo, Arguedas is unequivocal in his view that racial mixing is the explanation of Bolivia's backwardness : "in short, I repeat that miscegenation is the most obvious and the most enslaving phenom­ enon in Bolivia, and it is the only thing that explains reasonably and satisfactorily our present backwardness. "49 As in the 1909 edition, he seeks support for his position in the literature of European raciology. By the thirties, however, such support could no longer be found within the ranks of the scientific anthropologists and social

work, Arguedas agrees with Juan Bautista Alberdi's conservative,

psychologists. As the critic Zum Felde notes, Arguedas' thesis was

mid-nineteenth-century view of popular education: "make the roto, the Gaucho, the cholo . . . go through all the processes of the finest

never corrected in the light of modern race concepts : his f!!-Cism in

educational system, and in a hundred years you will not make of

for his views in the writings of that distinguished raciological "expert" of recent history, Adolf Hitler. Thus the pages of the 1937 edition of Pueblo enfermo are filled with citations from the Spanish trans­

him an English worker who labors, consumes, and lives in dignity and comfort."48 In essence Arguedas holds that the Indian or the mestizo can and should be educated to a degree, but that it would be vain to hope that they could reach the highly civilized level of the white European.

His remedy for Bolivia's enfermedad reveals

46. !!rid., p. 76. 47. Arguedas, La danza, II, 3.'17. 48. Alcides Arguedas, Pueblo en.fi'Tmo. Contribuci6n a la psicolo(l£a de los pueblos hi.�pano-amerirAno.�. Carta-pr6logo de Ramiro de Maeztu (Barcelona, 190)), p. 237. Note that all other references to this work are from the third edition (1937). In genP.ral there is little substantive difference between these two editions, although the exact phraseology varies somewhat. Important, too, is Arguedas' addition of several chapters-including one in which he supports Hitlerian racism-in the later edition.

fact became so entrenched that he could only find substantiation

lation of Mein Kampf and with approval of Hitlerian notions of Aryanism, the superiority of pure races, etc. 50 To sum up, Arguedas traces the national enfermedad to the maleficent heritage derived from both Indian and Spaniard, and to the "degenerative" effects of the intermixture of these two groups. His views on the mestizo clearly imply that miscegenation itself produces a group which not only incorporates the undesirable 49. Arguedas, Pueblo enfermo, p.

50. Ibid., pp. 264-65.

264.

24

The Sick Continent

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

25

characteristics of the two parent stocks, but in fact, exaggerates

alent position : as a follower of Jose Enrique Rod6 (whose impact

"Heredity" is used in two senses ; that

will be discussed later) he shows at least a superficial reaction against

and intensifies these defects.

of immutable, blood-carried traits and that of environmentally produced characteristics. The role of the principal cultural force, education, is important but limited. The non-European can only be educated to a certain level; the Hitlerian view that cultural forces are impotent when confronted by the determinism of the blood is endorsed. It follows that there are immutably inferior and superior races. Occasional slips, too, reveal his beliefs : speaking of the Indian's reaction to extreme exploitation, he notes that "then the Indian will become aroused, and will forget his obvious inferiority . . . . "51 (italics mine). Since he feels that there will always be a large group of only partially educated "inferior" Indians and mestizos, he holds little

' this restrictive scientism. Nevertheless his work remains permeated with racistic notions derived from the social organicists and par­ ticularly from Gustave Le Bon. That a French source should figure prominently in his writing is understandable since Garcia Calder6n was--even by Spanish American standards-an extreme Francophile. The bulk of his work, including his widely read survey of the Latin America of his day, Les democraties latines de l'Amerique (1912) , was published in French. Les democraties latines de l'Amerique covers a broad range of economic, sociological, political, demographic, and historical prob­ lems. Unlike Bunge, Garcia Calder6n does not make the study of

relatively rare instances,-Arguedas expresses the opposing view that

racial psychology the obvious keystone of the essay's organization, yet he clearly reveals that the "race problem" is uppermost in his

nations of the Andean region can follow the example of the true democracies (the United States is held up as the worthiest model of

Inind. One must read some three fourths of the book before finding a forthright statement of the importance of race in the over-all

these) and by doing

analysis of Latin America's problems :

confidence in the success of democratic institutions.

so

In a few

"attenuate certain racial peculiarities and

modify material conditions ; that is, change the form of those great molds in which the soul of a people is cast . . . . "52 Despite these occasional rays of hope, despite his unconvincing assertion that he is not "a fanatic on the subject of race,"63 and despite his recognition of the fact that science has been unable to discover what physical criteria actually determine races, 54 Arguedas remained essentially a racist. His closed view of racial development, his certainty that cultural forces could not materially change the undesirable, "inferior" traits inherent in non-European "blood," and finally his acceptance of Hitlerian raciology lead inevitably to this conclusion. The work of Arguedas is an extreme example of the general intel­ lectual orientation of the diagnosticians of the sick continent. Science--understood always as "European science"--explains the individual as well as the group, and what science cannot account for is either ignored or else crops up as an unresolved inconsistency. As we shall note as our study develops, scientism of this kind was, by the first few decades of the present century, already under attack by many Spanish American writers. In this context, the Peruvian essayist Francisco Garcia Calder6n 51. Ibid., p. 47. 52. La danza, II, 384. 53. Ibid., p. 154. 54. Pueblo enfermo, p. 31 .

(1883-1953) occupies an ambiv-

The race question is a very serious problem in American history : it explains the progress of some nations, the decadence of others ; it is the key to the incurable malady which is lac­ erating America. Finally, many other secondary phenomena depend upon it : general wealth, industrial organization, the stability of governments, and the steadfastness of patriotism. It is necessary, therefore, that the continent have an unswerving policy, based on the study of the problems posed by race, just as there is an agrarian policy in Russia, a protectionist policy in Germany and a policy of free-trade in England. 55 For Garcia Calder6n as for so many of his contemporaries, there was little problem in deciding whether the non-European element was inferior; rather he addressed himself to the question of whether cultural forces could unify and elevate a people admittedly debilitated by the malignant effects of Inixed blood : "This complexity of castes, this mixture of different blood has given rise to numerous problems. For example, is the formation of national consciousness possible ainidst such disparate elements? Is it possible that democracies so heterogeneous in nature can resist the invasion of superior races? In short, is South American Iniscegenation absolutely incapable of culture and organization?"56 55. Francisco Garcfa Calder6n, Lea d6mocratie8 latines de l'Ammque (Paris, 1912), p. 327. 56. Ilrid., p. 328.

26

The Sick Continent

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The answer to this question is never made perfectly clear. Agree­ ing with the late nineteenth-century Argentine anthropologist, Lucas

27

ambition to dominate.

It is the inevitability of blood-stronger than political affinity or geographic proximity."62

Ayarragaray, Garcia maintains that the first generation mestizo is

Throughout tbis discussion, and also in many other contexts,

"superior" to the pure Indian but "inferior" to the pure European. 57

Garcia Calder6n uses such phrases as the "Latin Spirit," the "Anglo­ Saxon Spirit," and the like. These terms, ambiguous as they are,

This position has an appealing simplicity about it ; the more European "blood" bred into the mestizo, the better will be the resulting prod­

may shed light upon his basic view of race.

uct.

the "Latin Spirit" versus the "Anglo-Saxon Spirit" indicate that he has in mind a parallel action of both race and culture ; thus, in describing this conflict he speaks of an "enmity and divorce between

In many cases little distinction is made between the various

types of racial mixtures; the use of the more generalized French term metis may explain why Garcia Calder6n so frequently speaks of mulato, mambo, and mestizo as if they were simply one group. Thus, when he discusses the contradictory forces at work in the psyche of the metis he will say : "There are many metis who are unfortunately disturbed by two races which are antagonistic by heredity. The strangest characteristics, the sensualism of the Negro, the sadness of the Indian, give this new race a spirit full of con­ tradictory hues . . . . "5 8 Garcia Calder6n's fundamental evaluation of the mestizo is best observed in his analysis of Latin American politi­ cal structure.

The progress of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, certain

states of Brazil, and Peru (an inclusion motivated by a bit of jingoism, no doubt) is described as a "result of the purification of the race, of the great amount of virile immigration, of the development of in­ dustrial activity."59 Similarly, of the unequal political development of the Central American nations, he states that "race explains the differences which we observe in the broad field of political experi­ ence . . . . " 60

The Peruvian essayist's fears extend even to the

United States, where "the national heritage is threatened by the

His remarks concerning

the two races and the two traditions"63 (italics mine) . Occasionally, as at the very beginning of Le Pbou contemporain, he seems to reject the race concept entirely in favor of culturally or environmentally formed traits : "There is a Latin civilization ; a Latin spirit; there is no Latin race. And the Latinity of France and of Spain, and of the South American republics, if one understands by that term the persistence of Roman blood, is a false notion, an obsolete anthro­ pological concept."64 In Les democraties too, he rejects the bio­ logical concept of race. Taking note of the large amount of non­ Latin blood in Spanish America, and of the many non-Anglo-Saxon elements in North America's population, he maintains that only "two moral heritages" will remain after the English and Spaniards vanish.65 On the basis of such statements Garcia Calder6n apparently held to the view that cultural forces are all-powerful in creating and modifying national or group character. However, he also believes that the cultural force itself, be it the "Latin Spirit" or the "Anglo­ Saxon Spirit," cannot exert complete control over these traits. His

invasion of Slavs and Orientals, by the fecundity of the Negroes ;

concept of these culture-souls is essentially mystical: they are com­

a foreboding uneasiness clouds the future of the race."61

posed of the traditions, language, and customs of a people plus an

Despite his interest in the problems posed by miscegenation in

undefined and irreducible quality which would, for example, make

North America, Garcia Calder6n is no Yankeephile. Rather, he

the "Saxonization" of the Latin impossible : "This spirit of a New

feels that the Anglo-Saxon disdain for the colored races leads to an

America is irreducible. Contact with Anglo-Saxon civilization may

irreducible enmity between the two halves of the New World and

alter it to some extent; but the complete transformation of the

that Hispanic America would do well to recognize this situation.

peculiar genius of these nations will never take place. "66 Granted

He observes that in North America's superficial friendship toward

that the Anglo-Saxon "National Soul" cannot radically alter peoples

her sister republics "there is contempt . . . in her policies there is the

dominated by the

57. Ibid., p. 333. 58. Ibid., pp. 236-37. 59. FTancisco Garcia Calder6n, La creaci6n de un continente (Paris, 1913), pp.

256-57. 60. Garcia Calder6n, Les d€mocraties, p. 204. 61. Ibid., p. 207.

Ame Latine,

may the non-European peoples of

62. Ibid., p. 289. 63. FTancisco Garcia Calder6n, Le Plrou contemporian, Mude sociale (Paris, 1007), 242. p. 64. Ibid., p. 33. 65. Garcia Calder6n, Les d�mocraties, p. 261. 66. Ibid., p. 265.

28

29

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Sick Continent

Spanish America be in any way modified by the forces of European

residence in Europe at a period in which the revolt against scientism

culture? Can the "Latin Spirit" operating within Hispanic America

and positivism was gaining momentum, and his association with

herself elevate or transform the Indian, Negro, and person of mixed

the Spanish American group (the arielistas) representing a similar reaction-account in part for his peculiar position. Like many Latin Americans of his day, Garcia Calder6n felt that in order to be a full-fledged citizen of the Western World it was necessary to be European, to speak (and write) French, to look upon one's native

blood-groups which are obviously considered inferior by this essayist? Apparently not, for Garcia Calder6n never presents the National Soul as an active agent; rather it is simply the expression of an irreducible set of characteristics. In one of his few major essays written in Spanish, the Creaci6n (1913), he attempts to solve the problem of trans­

de un continente

forming Latin America in a different manner.

In this work the

emphasis is placed upon a more general "forming force" of the New World, rather than upon the more restricted "Latin Spirit." The continent has revealed its tremendous forming force. Detailed North American statistics prove that the most irre­ ducible races respond to the action of the American environ­ ment. The head of the Jew slowly changes form. . . . In the North and in the South, in the United States and in Argentina -huge racial laboratories-the same transformation may be observed ; the German becomes a Yankee, the Italian becomes 'Argentinized. '67

land and her primitive, "atavistic," mixed-blooded masses through the works of Europe's leading social scientists and philosophers. Yet the very primitiveness, the uniqueness, and the grandeur of America could not be ignored. There is, particularly in his Creaci6n de un continente, an inkling of that profound sensitivity to the destiny and possibilities of the New World which was soon to become a major theme in the work of some of the most distinguished essayists

of the present century. 6 9 Significant, too, is the fact that Garcia Calder6n's deviations from the scientism of his European mentors are found in his later writings, while his racism is most frequently encountered in his early work. In 1912 Garcia Calder6n founded and directed an important

Statements such as these do not, however, qualify Garcia Calder6n

literary review: the Revista de America. Published in Paris, the Revista became a sounding board for Spanish Americans living in

as a liberal, for he never clearly admits that the environment might erase the biological "inferiority" of the non-European. When he

many of the opposing intellectual currents that will be observed in

seeks an explanation for Spanish America's political instability, he reverts to his racistic mentors : [Spanish America's] agitated history demonstrates that ideologies, equalitarian prejudices, and romantic liberalism are all sterile. It confirms the psychological laws form­

Europe as well as for overseas contributors. The journal reflects the Spanish American essay of the period: "New Worldism" (novo­ mundismo) versus Europeanism ; Bergsonian thought versus positiv­ ism ; and racism versus indigenism. Jose Ingenieros (1877-1925), a contributor to the Revista and one of Argentina's most prol�fi.c essayists

ulated by Dr. Gustave Le Bon: "the depressive effect of miscegenation, and the inability of institutions to transform the soul of peoples.

was often in the thick of the magazine's polemics. Ingenieros had much to say on a wide range of subjects : sociology, criminology,

A policy based upon the study of race may redeem these disorganized nations. Their future greatness will depend upon their willingness to submit to inflexible laws. " 68

Since Ingenieros was an active Socialist one would expect him to

In summing up Garcia Calder6n's ideas on race, one is struck by the eclecticism of his position. Despite his fundamentally racistic view, the rigid scientism of, say, Carlos Octavio Bunge, is to a degree counterbalanced in his essays by a greater appreciation of cultural forces, by the concept of the National Soul, and by a similarly mystical notion of environmental influence-the "forming force"­ of the New World. Certain facts of Garcia Calder6n's life-his long 67. Garcfa Ca.lder6n, La creacion, p. 60. 68. Ibid., p. 260.

socialism, ethics, philosophy, psychology, and, of course, race. 70 explain "racial" characteristics on the basis of economic forces and historical materialism. But, like many of his contemporaries, he could 69. See below, Chapter IV, pp. 59-67, 80-101. A further corroboration of Garcfa Calder6n's Americanist sympathies may be seen in his rebuttal of Ortega y Gasset's condescending attitudes toward the New World. See his article, "Ortega y Gasset y nuestro tiempo," Reperlorio Americana, XX (1930), 147. 70. In addition to the essays considered below, Ingenieros' abundant bibliography includes the following items: La criminologia (1911), La evolucion de la antrctpologia crimin11l (1911), La simulaciOn en la lucha por la vida (1909), Principioa de psicologia biolOgica (1913), El hombre mediocre (1913), Hacia una mctral sin dogma (1917), Enaayos filosoficos (1917), Proposiciones relativas al porvenir de la filosofta (1918), and Las fuerzas morales (1923).

30

not resist the "scientific" attraction of social orgamCism. Since Ingenieros was a moderate rather than a radical, he found Spencerian

ideas quite compatible with the evolutionary socialism he professed. And so, in his attitudes towards race, as in much of his sociological thought, the influence of Darwin and Spencer is much more striking than that of the Marxists.

Ingenieros repeatedly asserts his belief in the innate superiority of the white man. This attitude is evident in an article published in

31

The Sick Continent

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

However, the fact that the European is not adaptable t o a tropical environment is never considered a sign of his inferiority.7 7 Ingenieros' manipulation of the race concept, his acceptance of a vague environmentalism, and his frequent recourse to economic determinism lead only to confusion. The following statement is

typical : "race is not an abstract factor : each race, together with its

environment, expresses itself by specific customs and institutions,

its clearest exponent being the economic system."78 Virtually all of

the Revista de America, critical of Ricardo Rojas' Indianist theories ;71

the crucial terms in this passage are ill-defined. Ingenieros does not

of informal memoirs, Cr6nicas de viaje

ment or whether it includes "customs and institutions" ; and the

in an extensive essay, Sociologfa argentina

(1910) ; and in the collection (1919). He feels it is an

accepted fact that history proves the superiority of the white man, n that the Indian's defeat by the European is evidence of the white man's superior level of .development; and that the Negroes are� "closer to anthropoid monkeys than to civilized whites. "73 Ingenieros believes, moreover, that the "inferior races" will never develop up­ ward and so lose their inferior status ; rather, they will simply vanish · It follows that an effort to "uplift" such

in the struggle for life.

races would be in vain, or more exactly, "anti-scientific" : "Whatever we do in favor of the inferior races is anti-scientific ; at the most, we could protect them in order that they destroy each other without undue cruelty ; [we could also] facilitate the provisional adaptation of the few exceptional cases."74 Ingenieros carries his reasoning to some surprising extremes ; he doubts that men of colored races should be considered politically and juridically the equal of whites, and he even goes as far as justifying the institution of slavery as "the legal and political sanction of a purely biological reality. "710 The strong current of jingoism evident in his Sociologfa argentina

make clear whether "environment" refers to the physical environ­

precise meaning of the term "exponent" is equally diffuse.

If

Ingenieros means that a given physical enviroment produces a given

complex of institutions, and that one of these, the economic organiza­ tion, merely "explains" the basic nature of the society then economics

would be relegated to a decidedly insignificant position.

Yet on

other occasions Ingenieros says that economic forces play a "pre­ ponderant role in the over-all orientation of social changes. "a On one occasion, he dismisses the entire problem by stating, "It is sufficient that we know, in general, that all civilized peoples, through

a process of successively building-up and breaking-down, have had

to go through various stages from savagery and barbarism, this series of steps being determined by different forms of economic organization . . . . "80 These

occasional references to the role

of

economic forces in the creation of a group or racial character certainly

do not make Ingenieros an economic determinist, his adherence to Marxism notwithstanding.

The statement of one critic that In­

genieros "makes economics the omnideterminant factor and the key to the entire process of social evolution"81 fails to take into account

is based, to a great extent, upon an exaltP-d evaluation of the nation's

the racistic irreductionism that pervades his view of society and

racial stock. Ingenieros sees Argentina ("finally free . . . of inferior

culture.

races") as the dominant force in a continent which has been debilitat­ ed by Indian and Negro blood.78 He feels that the temperate zone is the natural home of the European and that the nonwhite's inability to adapt to this environment is another proof of his "inferiority." 71. Jos6 IngenieroR, "Nacionalismo e indianismo," Revista de Amlrica, II (May/ August, 1913), 185-94. 72. Jos6 Ingenieros, Obras completas, revisadas y anotadas por Anfbal Ponoo (Buenos Aires, 1939), VIII, 40. 73. Jos6 Ingenieros, Cronicas de viaje (Buenos Aires, 1919), p. 163. 74. Ibid., p. 165. 75. Ibid., p. 163. 76. lngenieros, Obras completas, VIII, 87.

The question "Why are we sick?" is answered by Bunge, Arguedas, Garcia Calder6n, and Ingenieros in unequivocal terms : we are sick because of our bad blood, because of the preponderance of 11inferior" non-European races in our midst.

If a cure for the

continent's malady is sought, these writers prescribe virtually the 77. Ibid., pp. 17-18. 78. Ibid., p. 42. 79. Ibid., pp. 185-86 . 80. Ibid., p. 39. 81. Alberto Zum Felde, Indice critico de la literatura hispanoamericana: Los en­ sayista.� (M6xico, 1954), p. 262.

32

33

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Sick Continent

same medicine : European immigration, absorption of the colored races, education, and "utilization" of the nonwhite within the restricted limits of his abilities. In contrast to the diagnosticians of the sick continent, more recent essayists have focused their attention upon questions of essence--" What are we?" rather than "why" are we one way or another. The first question, aside from its logical priority, calls for a self-contained, reflective answer; while the second question im­ mediately suggests an external cause, an explainer. In the specific writers whom we have been analyzing, this external factor is race. Others have used similar "explanations" of Spanish American character and society, based upon climate, geography, or even upon nutrition. 82 As with the raciologists, the technique involves the detailed scrutiny of th� society-viewed as an impersonal mass of data-using concepts, terminology, and hazily understood methods borrowed from the natural sciences. As later essayists pointed out, the failure of scientism in general, and of raciology in particular, lay not only in the fact that many of their "scientific" tenets have been proved erroneous, but in that their approach to man and his society left unanswered the great human questions of values, goals, and aspirations. They shed little if any light on man's emotional life, his creativity, or his aesthetic sense. However, not all the essayists of the period shared the views of a Bunge or an Arguedas. During the 1880's and 1890's the god­ father of radicalism in the Andean region, Gonzalez Prada, was proclaiming the falseness of the "inferior race" theory as applied to the Indian and mestizo, while Mexico's Justo Sierra, despite his association with the cient!ficos of the Dlaz regime, was reluctant to accept an exclusively scientific view of man. He maintained, more­ over, a consistently open view of race. 83 During approximately the same period Cuba's Jose Martf-a figure whose stature as a writer and as a man is impossible to overestimate--wrote that questions of race were pointless, simply because "there are no races : there are only modifications of man,"84 and that those who speak of races are deluding themselves with something that is simply a bookish

fantasy-"Sickly thinkers, those who work by lamp light, string together and mull-over races that exist only on paper. "85 Marti's tolerant humanism, Sierra's liberalism, and Gonzalez Prada's fervent love for indigenous America are important exceptions to the general spirit of pessimism and resignation which pervaded much of the Spanish American essay during the waning years of the nineteenth century. These atypical writers were in a real sense precursors of a substantial change in the continent's intellectual outlook. Although positivism and racism continued to hold a firm grip on the minds of some of Spanish America's most widely read -though not in all cases most profound--essayists, as the new century passed through its first decade younger writers were begin­ ning to chafe under the restraint of scientism's straight-jacket. The old gods-Comte, Darwin, Spencer-were challenged ; more im­ portant, new questions were phrased and new ways of looking at Spanish America's realities were suggested.

82. A notably unfortunate example is Francisco Bulnes' Bl poruenir de la8 nacioneB latino-americanas (1899). See below, Chapter IV, p. 60. 83. For a disclll!Sion of Sierra's role in the general rejection of scientism, see below, Chapter III, pp. 44-46. Regarding details of his raciological liberalism see the author's article, "lndigenism and Racism in Mexican Thought, 1857-1911," Journal of Inter­ Amerimn Studies I (Oct., 1959), 405-23. 84. Jos6 Martf, "La verdad sobre los Estados Unidos," Obras completas (La Habana, 1946), I, 2035.

85. Jos6 Martf, "El Partido Liberal," Obra8 completas, II, 112.

The Revolt Against Scientism

35

When a rigid idea is attacked from a number of quarters, the rebels seldom affirm a single well-defined position. Several general ten­

III

I THE

dencies of the movement, however, do stand out in retrospect. As

REVOLT

A G A I NS T S C I E N T IS M

we see in the quotation from Erro, a clear rejection of the notion that natural science could be the sole indicator of ethical, political, or aesthetic routes for man to follow underlies the spirit of the times.

The affirmative side of this reaction against positivism in particular and scientism in general can be found in what, for want of more

precise terms, may be called the appeal to idealiilm, to things of the

spirit, to those areas of man's nature which are motivated by "dis­ interest" (the Spanish word desinteres retains more of the original force of the expression) . Closely related to these tendencies is a The memories of my adolescence are linked chiefly with the masters of positivism. Renan, Guyau, Herbert Spencer, August Comte; I read them almost as a child and they took hold of me profoundly. . . . For many years I actually thought that I would never be able to rid myself of them . . . it saddened me, for as far as I was concerned, this was a gloomy confinement. Body and soul rebelled secretly against the conclusions of positivism (in) that nothing but a strictly biological interpretation for the higher phenomena of human life was admitted . . . . 1 This fragmentary confession by one of contemporary Argentina's finest philosophical essayists, Carlos Alberto Erro, might well sum up the intellectual autobiography of a host of present-day Spanish Americans.

It would be difficult to establish the date when this

"gloomy confinement" was broken, for the general reaction to

positivism varies substantially from one writer-or group of writers -to another.2 It is almost as difficult to characterize this revolt. 1. Carlos Alberto Erro, Dialogo existencial (Buenos Aires, 1937), pp. 13-14. 2. This reaction is most evident during the first two decades of the twentieth century; however we have already noted (in the previous chapter) that Positivism was under attack by some writers even at the height of its vogue in the 1880's and 1890's. Paul Groussac, who by virtue of his French birth and rather peripheral relationship to Argentine letters will not be discussed above, was one such critic. His eloquent words of 1896, however, bear repetition in the context of the present chapter: "La com­ parscicn de una sociedad humans con un organismo es mas antigua que Spencer, Bacon, y el mismo Arist6teles. . . . Puede que los soci6logos modemos se excedan en su cotejo de Ia circulaci6n comercial con Ia vascular, o de Ia administraci6n nacionsl con el sistema nervioso. . . . Pero, no debe echarse en olvido que estas sproximaciones son metaf6ricss y provisionales; sobre todo, conviene no abussr del pamlelo. . • • " He continues by attacking the concept of "economic man" in terms which are re­ markably like those which Spanish Americans-Antonio Caso, for example-were to use some twenty years later: "El ser humano dotado de existencia real es el que . . . produce y conserve materialmente, sin duda alguna, pero que siente, ademae, medita y cree, sobordinando en horns decisivas au producci6n y su consumo a sus creencias y pasiones. . . • " The foregoing in his article, "La paradojs de las ciencias sociales," La Biblioteca, II (Oct., 1896), 309-13.

deep-seated rejection of the apparent benefits of late nineteenth­

century material progress : physical comforts, the products of industry and technology, and in a wider sense, the entire well-ordered, self­ satisfied world of the petit bourgeois. Of course, a good deal of this

reaction is simply a reflection of certain European modes of expres­

sion : parallels with attitudes typical of the English Decadents or French Symbolist poets are obvious here.3 The fact that neither material progress nor the growth of a large middle class were very

evident in Spanish America of the late nineteenth century would appear to lessen the authenticity of this "rejection. " However, it

is not the physical comforts and the material progress themselves that the new generation of essayists attack ; their target is rather the attitude toward these things.

The very fact that a "typically

bourgeois" outlook existed in Spanish America without the cor­

responding material advances makes the attack of our es�yists the more justifiable.

From its inception this movement was led by

writers of widely divergent beliefs.

In some cases they were partisans

of the theory that only an intellectual aristocracy could redeem a society corrupted by a vulgar "mesocracy. " Others-the Marxists, for example-saw the rightful renovators of a decadent world in the Indian and rural proletariat. One of the earliest-and most clearly defined-manifestations of the "New Idealism" emerged from the essayists who found a focus for their thought in the writings of the young Uruguayan, Jose Enrique Rod6

(1871-1917).

Even before the turn of the century, in

his essay "El que vendra," Rod6 expressed Spanish America's need 3. In Spanish American poetry and prose fiction of this period much of the same attitude appears-explicitly or implicitly-in the work of the writers who have come to be known as the Modernistas: RuMn Darfo, Leopoldo Lugones, et al.

36

.!"'

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

for new literary gods to replac(; the aging masters of French natural­ ism, Zola in particular.4 Rod6 amplified the desire for a new intel­ lectual mentor in a widely read series of essays beginning with Ariel in 1900. Rod6's essays have, with justification, come to be considered classics of the genre ; and the group of writers who found inspiration in his ideas have been called arielistas, after Shakespeare's "aeyrie spirit" employed by the Uruguayan writer to symbolize the best of Latin character. 4.deljtself__has_ been3ommented .upon at length by _ critics of Spanish_American letters.6 Briefly, the framework of Rod6's essay Is die teachings of an aged man, Pr6spero, who instructs "youth" (read Hispanic America's young intellectuals of 1900) by developing the contrast between two symbolic figures : Ariel and Caliban. AriQl_epitmnizes _ all that is spiritual, the realm of the aesthetic., hu�an creativity, i�aginat!{m,-�etc. -wliile-·tne iinatt�active, gross ' Calil:i1n stands . f�r.mii:tenal appetites and activities. Rod6 makes lise oftliis·diia:Iity to discuss the national character of various groups, particularly Latins and ·Angl
The Revolt Against Scientism

37

people superficial learning but failed in identifying and selecting the necessarily small, but influential intellectual elite. One of his basic criticisms is that in the United States no aristocracy-with its all-im­ portant sense of rwblesse oblige-exists . Rod6, of course, thinks of an aristocracy in the sense of a respected, highly talented "aristocracy of merit," not unlike the group of "experts" which Plato placed at the directive apex of the society described in the Republic. But Rod6's most profound criticism is directed at a certain fundamental incomprehension of human values and human destiny which he fullls in North America: "Her prosperity is as great as her inability to satisfy even a Iniddling concept of human destiny. . . . Lacking the orientation afforded by well-established traditions, this nation has not discovered how to substitute the inspiring idealism of the past with an elevated and disinterested vision of the future."6 By contrast it is in the tradition of the Latins-the cultivators of Ariel-to recognize the value of material things in their proper role of providing the conditions for the free exercise of such essentially human activities as artistic creation and philosophic seeking. (Rod6 believed that the Latin concept of education, properly understo�d and uncorrupted by a narrow utilitarianism, leads to the development of that kind of an intellectual elite required for the proper functioning of any society. In short, Rod6 envisioned a very specific role for Spanish America : that of the torchbearers of the best of the Greco­ Roman humanistic tradition in the New World. There is, however, an undeniably strong "Americanist" spirit in Rod6. The very fact that he was so intent upon bringing his message of new faith in the Latin genius to Spanish America at a time when the great no_rthern powers-England, Germany, and the United States-were ·pushing Latin Europe into a position of economic and political "inferiority," suggests that he felt that the role of Hispanic America's neo-Latins was not simply that of transferring European culture, but of sur­ passing it, of bringing it to fuller fruition. Rod6's later essay, Los motivos de Proteo (1909), is in some respects similar to Ariel. As in the earlier work a symbolic figure--ever­ changing Proteus in this case-serves as a focal point for his theme. In the Motivos, Rod6's emphasis is on the necessity for modern man to avoid the narrow specialization towards which present-day technology drives him. Like the many-sided individual of the Renaissance, he should have broad interests and varied talents. 6. Jos� Enrique Rod6, Ariel (Buenos Aires, 1947), p. 94.

38

39

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Revolt Against Scientism

Throughout the essay Rod6 directs his attention toward the in­ dividual, rather than toward the collectivity. This simple fact is significant, for it indicates a trajectory which has been followed by many-and perhaps the best-of Spanish America's intellectuals and artists of the present century. Even writers who have pressed for sweeping reforms of society have shown a deep-seated conviction that changes must be effected in the individual as well as in the structure of social institutions. The "socio-economic orientation" of Spanish American literature, so frequently noted by its historians, can be very misleading. The fact is that the de-personalized, abstract treatment of man-implied by this generalization-has been quite alien to the best of contemporary Spanish American writing. Rod6's emphasis on the value of the individual bears this point out, as does the work of a great number of the essayists whom we shall examine. In this context Rod6's fervent exhortation to the individual that he guard his own integrity and permit it to flourish is particularly noteworthy. The diffusion of Rod6's ideas throughout Spanish America did not come about by chance. For one thing, the continent was certainly ready for the kind of appeal he was to make. Moreover, Rod6 himself had a rare sense of the timeliness of his message ; and he made a conscious effort to spread his ideas through personal contacts as well as through the leading journals of the day. An example may be seen in an open letter to the Venezuelan writer, Cesar Zumeta, published in the widely read Caracas review El cojo ilustrado. Speak­ ing of the book which he was about to publish (Ariel, of course, since the letter is dated August, 1900) Rod6 states : "It is, as you will see, something like a manifesto directed toward the youth of our America. . . . I should like this work of mine to be the starting point for a propaganda campaign that will continue to spread among America's intellectuals. . . . "7 Rod6's desire was certainly fulfilled. During the first decade of the century-roughly the period between the publica­ tion of A riel and the Motivos de Proteo-his influence grew steadily throughout Spanish America. A series of articles on "Liberalismo y jacobinismo," dealing with highly volatile problems of church and state, led to a sharp polemic with other important essayists ;8 the leading Spanish critics of the day, recognizing that Rod6's defense of Latinism was also a much needed defense of Hispanic culture, ap-

plauded his writings ;9 and important literary reviews, El cojo

7. Jos6 Enrique Rod6, "Am6rica," El cojo ilustrado, IX (Aug. 15, 1900), 526. 8. See especially Pedro Henriquez Urena's critique and plea for complete separation of church and state in his review of these essays, "Marginalia: Jos6 Enri que Rod6, " Reui{lta Moderna, I X (Dec., 1907), 240-42.

ilustrado of Caracas and Nosotros of Buenos Aires, published and discussed his work frequently. A Mexican critic reported in 1908 that far to the North, Bernardo Reyes, the governor of the border state of Nuevo Le6n prepared a special gift edition of Ariel for private distribution among his friends.10

The work of a number of essayists of this period bears a clear similarity, both stylistically and thematically, to Rod6's writings. In Uruguay itself, Alberto Nin Frias ( 1882-1937) , a co-worker in the vineyard of arielismo, was virtually a disciple of Rod6, as were Carlos Arturo Torres (1867-1911) of Colombia and Manuel D!az Rodriguez ( 1868-1927) of Venezuela. Francisco Garcia Calder6n, despite the scientism, racism, and frequent positivistic lapses of his earlier writings, reveals a good deal of the spirit of Rod6. In ad­ dition to its impact upon these few writers-a kind of "inner circle" of arielistas-Rod6's influence was felt indirectly throughout the continent. By the end of the second decade of the century, book­ length studies of his work began to appear, 11 and upon his death in 1917 the very important journal Nosotros dedicated an entire issue to him.12 The exact nature of the "arielista movement" has oc­ casioned no little controversy. Its defenders as well as its attackers have, I think, attempted to define arielismo in an overly generalized manner. As Zum Felde observes, there are really only a few common denominators for the movement.13 One of these, however, would certainly be the broad emphasis upon humanism. Specifically, manifestations of the arielista spirit may be seen in the great value given the realm of the nonutilitarian-art, philosophic contemplation, etc.-as definitively human activities ; in the relegation of science to its proper limits ; and in the conviction that any well-organized society must be hierarchical in structure. Other characteristics commonly ascribed to the movement, are more difficult to isolate. The rather pedantic, somewhat pompous 9. See the collection of l audatory articles compiled by Hugo D. Barbagelata, RodO y sus criticos (Paris, 1920). Among the many Peninsular writers who acclaim

Rod6 in this vo',ume, the most distinguished are Unamuno, Leopoldo Alas, and Juan Valera. 10. Franl'isco Monterde, "Nueva salida de Ariel," Cuadernos americanos, I (May­ June, 1942), 101-106. Bernardo Reyes, incidentally, was the father of the renowned humanist and essayist, Alfonso Reyes. 11. See above, note 5 for Zaldumbide's study. Also see Victor P6rez Petit, RodO (Montevideo, 1919) ; A. Andrade Coello, Rodo (Quito, 1917); and Max Henriquez Urena, RodO y Ruben Dar£o (Habana, 1918) . 12. Nosotros, No. 97 (May, 1917). 13. Zum Felde, lndice crit£co, p. 311.

40

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Revolt Against Scientism

41

style considered typical of arielista writing, the penchant for classical allusions, the long, intricate sentence structure, and the over-all tone of afrancesamiento, 14 are all quite general in Spanish American letters of the time. It would seem reasonable, therefore, not to speak of a specific arielista style. Similarly, the link between the arielistas and the "anti-Yankee" trend in the Spanish American essay is very tenuous. Had Rod6 never lived, I think it certain that essayists like Manuel Ugarte or Rufino Blanco Fombona would have produced their sharp criticisms of the Colossus of the North. The expansionist policies of the United States, her political intervention, and her economic penetration of Latin America elicited in these writers a kind of reaction quite different from Rod6's analysis of cultural contrasts between the Latin world and North America. Thus Ugarte, writing as a Socialist, analyzed the United States' inroads in Spanish America in terms of the interplay of "natural" economic forces; despite his fervent desire to awaken his countrymen to these dangers, there is little human involvement in his writing; in short, his tone is hardly ar.ielista.15 Although anti-Yankeeism coincides with the diffusion of Rod6's ideas and although there is a current of fear, suspicion, and even hostility toward the United States among some of his followers, the inclusion of yanquifobia in the definition of Arielism clouds the issue. \, Much of the criticism of the arjeJi��s has _c()me_j)::om_write_rs who a:r:e parf;!�a_!ls_Qf indigenismo and who tend to_ place_great value upon literature having overt social content. 16 For such critics, the fine (ilstmct1on-ara -wn by-Rod6 between the aristocracy of merit and the ordinary notion of "aristocracy"-i.e., simply the upper classes-is of little consequence. Thus, they feel that the arielista emphasis on natural hierarchy has merely provided a justification for the status quo; that the traditionally wealthy and powerful classes could claim to be this aristocracy of merit which Rod6 described. The arielistas are also accused of being slavishly European-of either forgetting or deprecating the indigenous American and his cultural contributions.

Perhaps what annoys the anti-Arielist most is the similarity of much of this writing to the affected prose of certain modernistas. The assumption is made that the arielista is an ivory tower aesthete ; that he is so involved in his own world of verbal elegance and philo­ sophic meditation that he cares little for his fell ow man (particularly if this fellow man is less talented, a member of the lower class3s, or an Indian) , Although there is a grain of truth in these assertions, those who condemn Rod6 and the arielistas may be guilty of losing perspective and of judging the movement by its least representative members. The arielistas were certainly not revolutionaries in the ordinary sense of the word, and their cultivation of the individual tended to keep them from attacking specific social or political problems. This disinclination to deal with the world of marketplaces, governments, exploited Indians, and the like does not necessarily mean that the arielistas approved of what today would be called "the establishment." It could be argued that the flight to the ivory tower, motivated by a deep disgust with the milieu, is the first step on the path to revolution. The artist-the man whose greatest reward and greatest punishment come from within-is a threat to the powers that be. He is not a cog in a wheel, and he cannot be easily manipulated. In this sense, Rod6's movement toward the cultivation of the self can lead to a profoundly radical positionP Perhaps the critics of arielismo are on firmest ground when they attack the followers of Rod6 rather than the master himself. As is often the case with literary schools or "generations" the initiator of the movement is usually a writer far superior to the coterie which gathers about him. The mediocrity of many gongoristas compared with the brilliance of Gongora himself, or the contrast seen in the cliches of the rubendarianos compared with Dar1o's best pages are cases in point. Similarly, the empty and often pompous verbosity of some arielistas is more typical of the disciples than it is of the

14 . The most striking example of the Francophile tendency among these writers is that of Francisco Garcfa Calder6n,- who as we noted in Chapter II wrote most of his major books (including his general study of American life, Le8 democraties latine�� de l'Amerique) in French. Moreover, as virtually all of the commentators have pointed out, Rod6 himself was strongly influenced by French writers-notably Renan and Guyau. 15. Note, however, Zum Felde's inclusion of Ugarte among the writers of "la promoci6n arielista." See Indice crltico, pp. 313-16. 16. See especially Luis Alberto Sanchez, Balance y liquidaci6n del nooecientos (Santiago, 1941), pp. 15-36; and Fernando Diez de Medina, Sariri : Una replica al Ariel de Rod6 (La Paz, 1954), pp. 12-16. For a discussion of indigenismo, see below, Chapter IV, pp. 60-67.

17. While Rod6 could hardly be called a "radical" on religious questions, here again con­ his emphasis on the personal rather than the institutional sets him apart from the servatives with whom the anti-arielistas tend to associate him. For one thing, the heterodoxy of Renan lay behind much of Rod6's religious thinking; in the co�troversial from essays on "Liberalismo y jacobinismo," the objection to the _re�oval o.f �ruclfh:es must be public hospitals is made not because Rod6 felt that ecclesiastical pnvileges believer for • respected, but rather because he thought of. Christ as '_'a mod_el of chari�y: and nonbeliever alike. And at least one wnter of the mner Circle of an.eltsmo, Alberto Nin Frias, professed Protestant incl!nation to t�e exten� �hat he considered Hisp�nic , latma, catholicism "El cancer de Ia raza latma." See Nm Frias Ensayo sobre Ia raza

/

_

master. Rod6, even in the florid style of his youth would hardly

el catolicismo y el protestantismo" in his Ensayos de critica e historia

(Valencia, 1907).

42

43

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Revolt Against Scientism

have been responsible for a sentence like the following from C.A

intrinsic value are Argentina and Uruguay : this is so because they

Torres' Idola fori : In the elegant and corrupt Italian courts which Pinturicchio has shown us with a richness of color and detail that would be sought in vain in any other chronicler or historian, the pagan spirit makes its re-appearance ; combining at this moment of its reincarnation, in the powerful and diabolical personage of Caesar Borgia, all the refinement of Athens with the most sinister arts of the assassins crowned by imperial Rome.1 8 Torres is also guilty of the worst sort of name-dropping ; in his com­

have almost completely gotten rid of the autochthonous race. "22 One of the most interesting examples of arielista snobbery is seen in the work of Manuel Diaz Rodriguez who combines an effete cultivation of the European decadents (in his own words, "the gentle and delightful mysticism of certain Pre-Raphaelite paintings and the poetry of Wilde and D' Annunzio"23) with a stinging attack upon "Don Perfecto"-the typically dull, pedantic, positivistic critic.24 Perfecto is vain without having any nobility or inner pride ; he is a slavish imitator of "scientific" criticism ; he has no understanding of

pulsive urge to say a word about virtually every philosopher, sociol­

originality; and he "explains" things by recourse to "the most

ogist, and intellectual of his day he will commit such blunders as

rancid of metaphysics under the guise of the subconscious."26 Al­

grouping Bunge and Ingenieros as representatives of the reaction

though the stodgy European critic Max Nordau is singled out as a

against positivism.19 Many other details of Torres' writing reveal

typical Don Perfecto, the general tone suggests that people closer

a confused eclecticism i examples may be seen in his desire to reconcile

to the Venezuelan literary scene of

such questions as the Great Man theory of history versus the power

1908 were under fire.

Despite his snobbery and despite the sharpness of his personal

of the masses ; in his praise of Spencer and of the "idealism" found in

attacks, one must admit that Dfaz Rodriguez was a fine writer.

the new philosophy of· Bergson, Boutroux, and Nietzsche ; and in his

good example of his skill as an essayist is his treatise on pride in the

condemnation of socialism, on the one hand, and his praise of ex­ periments in state controls of commodity prices, on the other.20 In his desire to achieve a breadth of viewpoint and a reconciliation of opposing positions, Torres became a veritable caricature of Rod6's Proteus. Once ap;ain the superiority of the master over the disciple is very apparent. The arielistas' view of social structure and their emphasis on a natural aristocracy of merit certainly imply a kind of snobbery. Significantly, Rod6 himself seldom deprecates those levels of society which are below the intellectual elite. There is a marked freedom from bitterness and invective in his criticisms of the vulgo ; moreover, he often stresses the reciprocal nature of the various strata of society. Here again, the attitude of some of his followers differs substantially. Francisco Garcia Calder6n-if we include him among the arielistas­ reveals one of the most pernicious forms of snobbery : racism.21 And Rod6's compatriot, Alberto Nin Frias, is little better when, in his enthusiasm for the racial exclusivism of Anglo-Saxon countries, he states : "Of all the nations of America, the ones that have the greatest 18. Carlos Arturo Torres, Idola fori, (3•"' ed., Bogota, 1935), p. 70. The first edition appeared in 1910. 19. Ibid., p. 160. 20. Ibid., pp. 193-96. 21. See above, Chapter II, pp. 25-29.

A

Camino de perfecci6n. In some twenty-five pages of carefully polished prose he weaves a classic essay on the theme : the entire gamut of positions-from the humility of a St. Francis to the blatant vanity of a Don Perfecto-is analyzed in an attempt to develop a distinctively

arielista concept of the term.26 Also to Dlaz Rodriguez' credit is his sharp refutation of scientism, of writers who assign scientific "fact" an absolute value.27 An important aspect of this critique is his rejection of racism and particularly of the racistic explanation of cultural achievement.28 In this regard, Dlaz Rodriguez' views are in

�

marked contrast to those of Garcfa Calder6n and Nin Frfa .

On

balance, Dfaz Rodriguez' "snobbery" is not entirely unattractive : in his impatience with mediocrity and superficiality he is perhaps the closest of the arielistas to Rod6 himself. Although Rod6 and his followers had serious reservations re­ garding the ability of science to provide a basic orientation for human existence, their attack on the bastion of scientism was more a flanking engagement than a frontal assault.

In fact, Rod6 himself

22. Nin Frlas, Emayos de crltica e hilltoria, p. 197. 23. Manuel Dfaz Rodriguez, Camino de perfecci6n (Caracas, 1942), p. 100. The first edition of these essays appeared in 1908. 24. Ibid., pp. 24ff. 25. Ibid., p. 71. 26. Ibid., pp. 24-49. 27. Ibid., pp. 7lff. 28. Ibid., p. 110.

44

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

accepted a good deal of Comte's political and social thought.

The Revolt Agains� Scientism In

Ar£el he notes with approval that the founder of positivism viewed

democratic equality as simply "a transitory dissolvent of old in­

equalities" and that he shared Rod6's own belief in a natural social hierarchy.29 The arielista attention was not directed toward under­ mining the foundations of positivism, but rather toward the critique of what were felt to be the outgrowths of the system : the worship of material progress, the cult of mediocrity, and the mortal effects of specialization on the human spirit.

It is true that these writers were

aware of the revolutionary philosophies of Boutroux, Bergson, and even the North American James ;30 they certainly were on familiar terms with the voluntarism of Nietzsche. However, Rod6 and the

arielistas apparently did not have a sufficient grasp of these newer ideological currents to ally themselves unequivocably with such � powerful forces.31 Had they done so, their importance in the intel­ lectual history of Spanish America would have been much greater. At about the same time that arielismo was attracting the intel­ lectuals of the South ·American continent, to the North, in Mexico, other important events in the turning of the tide against scientism were taking place.

One of the most dramatic of these events occurred

on the evening of March

22, 1908, in Mexico City's Arbeu Theater.

On that occasion, the cream of Mexico's intellectual elite gathered to hear Justo Sierra-respected, mature, former Minister of Education, and a key cientifico-deliver an oration commemorating the fiftieth 29. Rod6, A riel, p. 70. Note also that Z� Feld� in t�e Indice_ �tico �scusses Rod6 and the arielistas under the general heading of El tmpeno del potntit�mo ctenUJico. 30. A few isolated articles dealing with these thinkers sppes� in Spa�sh American journals during the first decade of the century. E.. Duprst,_ m s routme report _of French philosophic activity for the year 1907, reVIewed bnefiy Bergson's Creatwe Evolution in "La filosoffs frsncess en 1907," Nosotros II (Oct., 1908), 156-60: In September of 1908 Garcia Cslder6n psrt�cips�d in s philosop_hic co�gr� in Heidel­ berg· a paper which he delivered wss pnnted m s French philosophical Journal and was �ubsequently translated into Sp!lnish (by Pedro H�nrfqu�z Ure.fls) !is "Las cor­ rientes filos6ficas en ls Am6rica Lstma," and wss published m the Remsta Moderna XI (Nov., 1908), 150-56. Gsrcfa Csl�er6n discusses , Ber�son in .tlJ!s paper, �lthough , he does not attempt a critical evaluation of Bergson s philosophic Impact. Las cor­ rientes filos6ficas . . . " wss also included in his collection of esssys, Profesores de idealismo (1908). . . . r1st . lities of, IrratiOns 31. Rod6, like Gsrcfa Cslder6n was aware only_ of t�e s?-perfic1s thought. He did not, for example, see the broad 1mphcatu�ns of �ergson s �oncept_ of "creative evolution," although critics have attempted to �mk _this Bergsoman notion . with the ideas in Motivos de Proteo. See Mead, Breve hutorw, P·. 75; and Ennque Anderson Imbert, Historia de la !iteratura hispan01:' meri �na (Mexico, 1961 1 , I, 439. Bergson's work L'evolution creatnce was only published 11_1 1907, though students of . Rod6 agree that the material in the Motivos was composed m the t��e years preceding this date (1904-1907) . Moreover, neither Rod6 nor the other Anelt.�tas eve� ca�� to grips with such basic Bergsonisn concerns as human freedom, the nature of mtuition, etc.

45

anniversary of the introduction of positivism into Mexico by Gabino Barreda. What Sierra's audience heard was not quite the superficial panegyric which was commonly accorded the intellectual mentor of the Dlaz era.

Rather, Sierra suggested that the very nature of

science was such that blind faith in absolute, undebatable truth was

untenable. What he called for was a degree of "scientific" skepticism : Let us doubt : in the first place because if science is nothing more than the systematic knowledge of that which is relative, if things in themselves can not be known, if we can only know their con­ stant relationship, if all this is genuine science, then must it not be in perpetual discussion, in perpetual conflict? What great funda­ mental truth of science has not been discussed or is not under dit;cussion at this time?32 Sierra substantiated this view by citing a lengthy and quite sophis­

ticated list of basic scientific theories which were then undergoing fundamental revision. He even quoted Nietzsche's belief that "science is always based on a metaphysical position, our faith in science."33

One other point underscored by Sierra in this speech could easily pass unnoticed today ; but considering the frame of mind of his

audience, its effect must have been great : " . . . we all know that science has extinguished the light of heaven and ha� filled space with suns and worlds-among which ours is but an atom-and has worked out laws for the marvelous equilibrium of the universes which fill the infinitudt. It . . has reduced these laws to a single one wh1ch we poets might call the very word of God, beyond which �e gl mpse onl:y- a _ sea of mystery, on who�e shore& science, quaking w1t? aspiratiOn and impotence, extends its arms. The founder [1.e., qornte] never denied that an intelligence ruled over the universe ; what he always denied was that this could be a matter of scien­ tific discussion . . . . "34

�

The speech in the Arbeu Theater, with its ringing repetition of the exhortation "Dudemos" ("let us doubt"), is certainly a re­ markable example of Spanish American oratory. As an essay it was published in the Revista Moderna, an influential j ournal through w ose

�

· pages a new generation of artists and intellectuals was ei�e rg�ng. Several of these writers-Jose Vasconcelos ( 1881-1959) , Antonio Caso 32. Justo Sierra, "Discurso en el Teatro Arbeu," in Jos6 G�os, Antologia del pen­ samiento de langua espanola de la edad contemporanea (Mexico, 1945), pp. 801-2. . 33. Ibid., p. 808. . . . . h positiVI . "at 34. Ibid., p. 809. For a furt�er �iscUSSlon of _SJer_ra 's ea�lier breaks Wit ,

orthodoxy, see the author's "Ind1gemsm and RaCism m Mexican Thought: 1857-191 1,

Journal of Inter-American Studies, I (Oct., 1959), 405-23.

46

( 1883-1940) , and Pedro Henriquez Urena (1884-1946)-soon became the leading spokesmen of the century's new spirit, rekindled en­ thusiasm, and reborn humanistic faith.

Sierra's relationship to the

A teneo de la Juventud (Athenaeum of Youth)-as this group came to be called-was established in other ways.

It was through his efforts

that the modern National University of Mexico came into being. Throughout the nineteenth century,

the institution enjoyed a

shadowy existence as a loosely knit group of professional schools. Sierra, however, saw the need for a unifying central unit, the school of Higher Studies, which would eventually become the heart of the University, the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

47

The Revolt Against Scientism

IN QUEST. OF IDENTITY .

It was through this

significantly "impractical" unit of the university that certain writers of the Ateneo de la Juventud, particularly Antonio Caso, came to

thinking.

The attitude of snobbery and the pose of the haughty

aesthete noted in some of the arielistas are likewise quite absent in the writings of the Mexican group. There is little doubt that the intellectual revolt of the Ateneo is far more radical than that of the arielistas. Instead of the mild eclecticism which Rod6 inherited from Guyau and Renan, the Mexican group grounded its viewpoint on the Germans-Schopen­

hauer, Nietzsche, and Stirner-in addition to Boutroux and Bergson.

From about 1906, when the group collaborated on its short-lived journal, Savia Moderna, until 1910, when they presented the im­ portant lectures of the Ateneo, their intellectual position was in the formative process.

In the 1910 lectures, however, a fairly clear

picture of the group's underlying philosophy begins to emerge. Jose

exercise a decisive influence upon the intellectual development .of contemporary Mexico.

Vasconcelos is particularly eloquent in describing the group's develop­

In addition to Sierra's invitation to re-examine the basic tenets

not where we might receive illuminating inspiration, where we might

of positivism, the Ateneo writers were stimulated by the essays of

hear the strains of a deeper music, the mysterious voice of con­

ment : "the schools . . . where positivistic morality is still taught, are

Pedro Henriquez Urena, the only non­

temporary sensibility bearing renewed and abundant vitality. This

Mexican of the group, played an important role in the diffusion of

new feeling was brought about by our own desperation ; the mute

Rod6 and his disciples.

arielista thought through his Revista Moderna articles on Rod6 and

pain of contemplating life without hope or nobility."40 The obstacle

Garcia Calder6n.35 Even earlier, before leaving his native Santo

which was to be overcome before a genuinely new philosophic

DOiningo, Henriquez Urena had produced a short but penetrating

position could be established was seen with remarkable unanimity

study on the Uruguayan mentor and the movement which he had

by the members of the group : it was the problem of human liberty

initiated.36 At least one arielista, Garcia Calder6n, was a frequent

set against a world dominated by necessity and by a suffocating

contributor to the Revista Moderna during the early years of the

mechanistic chain of events; a world in which there was, in effect,

century.37 Of course, there was much in these writings which the

nothing new under the sun. This "new sensibility" of which the

Ateneo de la Juventud group could not accept. While Henriquez

Ateneo group writes, was at odds with the tradition of Kant' ("the

Urena could laud Rod6's faith, hope, enthusiasm, and vigor,38 he

synthetic chief of intellectualism, " in Urena's words) which leads,

took sharp issue with him on the religious questions aired in "Liber­

they felt, to both Hegelianism and positivism. They even commented

alismo y jacobinismo."39 The Mexican group clearly shared the

arielista critique of scientism, their humanistic spirit, and their general idealistic tone ; but the emphasis on the role of the aristocracy

fearfully on Mill's highly theoretical view that if we could know everything at one given moment in time, it would be possible to predict with accuracy the entire subsequent history of the universe.41

and on the hierarchical social structure seem alien to the A teneo's

The writers of the Ateneo were striving to give man a chance to act

35. Hendquez Urefia, "Marginalia: Jose Enrique Rod6," Revista Moderna, 240-42; and Pedro Henriquez Urena, "Profesores de idealismo," Revista Moderna, XIV (June,

beings were simply cogs in a machine, freedom becomes an illusion ;

1910), 213-16. 36. Pedro Hendquez Urefia, "Ariel" in Obra Critica (Mexico, 1960), pp. 23-28. The original article is dated 1904. 37. Garcia Calder6n published at least five pieces in the Revista during the period 1904-1909. The most important of these, "Las corrientes filos6ficas en la America Latina," is discussed in note 30 above. 3R. Henriquez Urefia, Obra critica, p. 25. 39. See note 8 above.

as a free agent, to act creatively and disinterestedly.

If human

creativity can always be explained away by showing pre-existing in­ fluences (Taine's race, historical moment, and milieu, for example) ; and the concept of a disinterested act becomes meaningless. 40. Jose Vasconcelos, Obras completas (Mexico, 1957), I, 43-44. 41. Henriquez Urefia, Obra critica, p. 69.

48

49

The Revolt Against Scientism

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The ideas of the Ateneo, however, were not crystallized without

concelos considers that the will-representation polarity of Schopen­

considerable probing and hesitancy. Henriquez Urena, despite his

hauer contains "the germ of the entire modern age , " he seems dis­

very solid comprehension of European intellectual currents chose

satisfied with the implied equation of

merely to describe rather than criticize,42 although his grasp of

he feels that the attempt to establish such an equation will lead to

Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Bergson, and even of the North Americans Peirce and James was at the time probably superior to that of the other members of the group.

He was, perhaps by temperament, an

observer and an analyzer rather than an intellectual activist.

As

for Caso, his writing at this time still lacked the spirit of personal involvement of his later works; he was sampling philosophic wares and had not as yet taken a stand.

Vasconcelos, by contrast, plunged

into the philosophic problems of the "new sensibility" with youthful abandon : one of the best presentations of the A teneo's intellectual position is found in his essay of ideas contemporaneas. "

1910, "Don Gabino Barreda

y las

Vasconcelos takes as his point of departure

the all-important problem of knowledge, which he finds "unsolvable within the limits of reason."43 By this he means that "things in themselves"-the real world of the Kantian noumenon-cannot be known ; that our knowledge is limited to their "representation, " the phenomena.

In the perceived world, the realm of the phenomena,

the laws of causality of course hold sway; everything that happens is part of a determined chain of events.

Like many other thinkers of

the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Vasconcelos would like to reserve this phenomenal or "representational" world for matter, substance.

If human existence could in some sense be thought of as

nonsubstantial, it would fall Ol,ltside the realm of cause and effect ; man, in a word, would be free : "Is it not preferable to search the universe for some power which would not be reducible to the laws of representation? Something contradictory to the very law of the phenomenon. . . ?"44 A possible solution is offered by the voluntarism of

Schopenhauer.

Vasconcelos

states

the

philosopher's

famous

dictum, "the world is my will and my representation," and then notes that philosophy has traditionally concerned itself with "rep­ resentation" (i. e. , the physical world as perceived by men) , but that now "the thing in itself was also going to be interpreted by the philosopher, with universal data, with the aid of religions, with the aid of literature, art, and of life as it is lived. "45 Although Vas42. See, for example, Henriquez Urena's article of 1908, "Nietzsche y el pragmatismo," Obra crltica, pp. 73-78. 43. Vasconcelos, Obras completckq, I, 44. 44. Ibid., I, 46. 45. Ibid., I, 44.

the thing in itself with the will ;

only a vague, uncommunicable mysticism which cannot serve as a guide for mankind.46 He then turns to Bergson and vitalism as a more fruitful method of establishing man's autonomy from the mechanistic world of matter : "life is a reaction . . . [an] impulse which tends to free itself of being controlled by material laws. . . . "47 The very core of the vitalist position, Vasconcelos notes, lies in the problem of the genesis of life. Following Bergson, he feels that this must not depend upon any "phenomenon of energy, " for energy tends to dissipate itself, to "run down" while life perpetually increases.4s He then suggests that the life force is given as "the disinterested act, because such an act is only produced in violation of all the laws of the material realm. "4 9 He concludes by adding that it is "the only miracle of the Cosmos. " Vasconcelos did not attempt the arduous task of deriving a complete and consistent world-view (or even the lesser task of formulating a philosophy of values) on the basis of vitalism and voluntarism.

Moreover, his summation of the "new sensibility"

which stems from these currents lacks the rigor of professional philosophic writing. Vasconcelos' impatience, his desire to translate these ideas into meaningful terms, dominates his expression : Our age lives as if it imagined that there was at work in the universe a power whose laws are different from those of the phenomena, and when people think seriously about thisr they will discover within themselves the germ of this indestructible power; they will find it in their conscience, which is capable of self-denial and is therefore more powerful than everything else in the universe. . . . The generous act in the Inidst of universal 50 self-interest is the strangest contradiction of factual reality. . .

.

That Vasconcelos speaks here as a popularizer rather than as a professional philosopher does not detract from his importance.

One

wonders how much influence a Kant or a Bergson might have had had their works been accorded only "professional" attention.

In

the specific case of Spanish America, for better or for worse, the 46. Ibid., I, 45. 47. Ibid., I, 48. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid., I, 49. 50. Ibid., I, 51.

51

I N QUEST OF I DENTITY

The Revolt Against Scientism

popularizers have exercised a crucial influence. A case in point is

excess of voluntarism evident in Stimer and other thinkers like him

50

Antonio Caso, whose impressive essay, La existencia como economia,

como desinteres

y

como caridad (1919) , attests the impact of Vas­

concelos' earlier popularization of Schopenhauer and Bergson. If 1910 was an auspicious year in Mexican intellectual history, it was no less auspicious in Mexican politics. Although the A teneo group cannot be considered the literary instigator of the Revolution of 1910-17, it certainly played an important part in shaping the new Mexico that arose after the military phase of the revolt had ended. The group itself gradually disbanded during the chaotic

years of factional strife.

Henriquez Urena left Mexico in 1914 to

pursue a distinguished career as a teacher and literary critic in Argentina and in the United States.

The youthful Alfonso Reyes

(1889-1959) published a valuable collection of essays on aestheti(}S.

Cuestiones esteticas (1911), but left for Europe shortly afterward.

must be balanced by love. 63

Caso's article of 1909, "Perennidad del pensamiento religioso y

especulativo" is particularly significant for its clear attack upon positivism and also for its emphasis on religious experience.

He

states that to deny either the scientific or the religious explanation of reality "is to mutilate humanity and explain the most glorious part of its past with fantasies and chimeras stripped of universal value."64 His remark that like science religion bases truth on ex­ perience-spiritual

experience-merits attention,

continues as a leitmotif in his later work.

for the

theme

In 1914, when Caso's

essay "La filosofia de la intuici6n" appeared, Spanish American intellectuals knew relatively little about Henri Bergson.

Caso was

the first Mexican to discuss the French philosopher at length ; and

he may well have been one of the first Spanish Americans to do so. 55

Vasconcelos, after considerable direct involvement in the Revolution,

His essay was a clear, though brief, exposition of the Bergsonian

was forced to spend a number of years as an exile in Europe, South America, and the United States. During the decade of post-Rev­

ments as Boutroux's philosophy of contingency and the newer, less

olutionary consolidation-the 1920's-he returned to Mexico to serve in the important post of Minister of Education.

His activities of

this period will be discussed in a later chapter. Antonio Caso, by contrast, remained in Mexico, cultivating the basic themes of the Ateneo group throughout the Revolution. His earliest statement of these themes appears in a series of essays written during the years immediately preceding the conflict.

His

piece on Nietzsche, in the Revista Moderna of August, 1907, is basically explanatory, though he does show a marked dislike for the

German thinker. 61 Caso's first lectures in the Ateneo were char­ acterized by an overestimation of Barreda's importance and by some reticence to attack positivism directly. The lectures were sharply

criticized on both these points by Pedro Henriquez Urena. 52 Caso's

1908 Revista Moderna article on Max Stimer, however, gives a better hint of his future development.

Caso approves of Stimer's vigorous

attack on Hegelism ; but what appeals most to the young Mexican is the emphasis on an instinctive, concrete ego and the general tone of "personalism" in Stimer's work.

Caso warns, however, that the

51. Antonio Caso, "Nietzsche, su esp{ritu y su obra," Revista Moderna, VIII (Aug. 1907), 348-58. 52. Antonio Caso, "Conferencias sabre el positivismo," Revista Moderna, XII (July, 1909), 301-10. Reprinted in Horas de estudio as "El positivismo de Comte" ; see Henr{quez Urel!.a, Obra critica, p p . 52-53.

concept of intuition and of Bergson's relationship to such key move­ rigid scientific thinking of Mach, Ostwald, and Poincare.

Caso

repeatedly underscores the profoundly human orientation of in­ tuitionist thought : "It is not idealism, as people often term it, but humanism . . . " he explains ; for the new philosophy is "a restoration

of the spiritual . . . of that which is essentially and genuinely human. " 56

The extent to which philosophic anti-intellectualism had taken hold of his thinking is dramatically summed up in his view that "whatever does not reflect one iota of our will, of our intelligence, of our activity, is nothing . . . that which is absolutely dissimilar to humanity; does

not exist . . . . "57

La existencia como economia, como desinteres

y

como caridad is a

fitting climax to this period of Caso's career and to the work of the

Ateneo. Though published in 1919, the essay grew out of Caso's 1915 lectures at the Universidad Popular Mexicana, an institution which virtually owed its existence to the efforts of the Ateneo group. 53. Antonio Caso, "Max Stimer," Revista Moderna, X (March, 1908) , 80-84. 54. Antonio Caso, "Perennidad del pensamiento religioso y especulativo," Remta Moderna, XIII (Oct., 1909), 68. 55. Note, however, Vasconcelos' familiarity with Bergson, discussed above. Also note the arielistas' awareness of Bergson: see above, p. 44, note 30. Robert G. Mead's statement that "Caso es el primero en introducir en au patria las ideas de Bergson sobre la intuici6n y la evoluci6n creadora," Ensayo hispanoamericano, p. 101, must be qualified by these considerations. 56. Antonio Caso, Lafilosofia de la intuici6n (Mexico, 1914), p. 4. 57. Ibid.

52

53

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Revolt Against Scientism

Caso frames his essay on the basis of two opposing concepts of life.

written before, both by himself and by others. His debt to Vas­

The first of these, life in the "economic" sense, may be described by the phrase "the maximum benefit with the minimum effort." The second concept, life as "sacrifice," as "disinterest," or as "charity,"

is described as "the maximum effort with the minimum benefit."5S Human existence, when viewed from the standpoint of the "eco­ nomic" concept, remains irretrievably enmeshed in the deter­ minism of natural forces. Man, as a producer and consumer of goods is simply another natural object, simply a "thing" in a material world. The human will may, however, liberate man from the realm of material necessity. Caso implies-and here the exact formulation of the problem is my own-that the will, ego, or humanized life-force, call it what we will, can pursue either self-interested (i.e., "economic") ends, or it can pursu� certain completely "irrational," not self­ interested, and even un-directed ends. We have already noted that in the pursuit of "economic" ends, the will functions merely as an instrument of economic forces and hence man remains simply another determined object itt nature. When, however, the will-or the formalizing force, as Caso occasionally terms it-pursues that which is "disinterested," man assumes his distinctive, free, human character. In short, it is not simply man's will which liberates him, but his will

directed toward acts of disinterest, charity, and love. Caso's attitude toward the voluntaristic philosophies of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche is consistent with this viewpoint. He acknowledges a great debt to the former for having pointed out the "disinterested" and liberating nature of art and similar activities, 59 but he rejects the Nietzschean concept of will with its accompanying moral code. 6° Caso objects particularly to the equation of the "lamb morality"-the code of the weakling-,vith Christianity. He points out that sacrifice and charity require great strength of character and a kind of nobility which surpasses the "lion morality" of which Nietzsche was so fond. 61 Caso even ventures to analyze the disturbance that eventually forced the German philosopher to an asylum : Nietzsche's madness, he feels,

represented the frustrated attempt of the weakling striving for strength. 62 Much of what Caso 'vrote in La existencia had been

58. Antonio Caso, La existencia romo ·econom{a, como desinteres y romo caridad (Mexico, 1943), p. 154. 59. Ibid., pp. 50-53. 60. Ibid., pp. 156ff. 61. lbid., pp. 155-56. 62. Ibid., p. 157. Caso's interpretation of Nietzsche is fairly typical of his period and of several decades after. An appealing and different contemporary view of the Nietzschean ethic appears in the work of Walter Kaufman, who notes that "The

concelos' work of 1910 is, for example, abundantly clear. But in

this essay Caso writes with a warmth and conviction found neither in his own earlier works nor in those of his compatriots. Perhaps the conditions under which it was produced, conditions of strife and chaos which must have brought acts of self-interest and disinterest into dramatically sharp focus, influenced the essay's general tone.

La existencia como economia, como desinteres

y

como caridad,

though based substantially upon Caso's earlier thinking on voluntar­ ism and on Bergsonian vitalism, points the way toward even newer intellectual horizons. For example, Caso speaks of the "culminating" nature of the then current, but still little known philosophic school

of phenomenology. He views its chief exponent, Husser!, as rep­ resenting a kind of dialectical "synthesis" of Hegel and Comte,

who are seen in terms of a thesis-antithesis relationship. 63 Caso stresses that the value of Husserl's method lies in the fact that

phenomenology uses "intuitional" data without becoming meta­ physical . 64 Although he does not discuss phenomenology at great length, Caso's very early acquaintance with Husserl-a thinker who

contributed in no small measure to twentieth-century existentialism

-is noteworthY:. 65

The victory of the anti-Positivist forces was incomplete even

after two decades of sustained activity. A number of widely read

essayists could see nothing but chaos in the growing trend toward

voluntarism and vitalism. Interestingly, their defense of their own

position points up the weaknesses of positivism rather than those of

the newer intellectual currents. Two such men are the . chilean

philosopher Enrique Molina ( 1871-?) and a writer whom we have

highest type, to Nietzsche's mind, is the passionate man who is the master of his passions, able to employ them creatively without having to resort to asceticism for fear that his passions might conquer him." See Kaufman's "How Nietzsche Rev­ olutinized Ethics" in his The Owl and the Nightingale (London, 1959), pp. 190-99. 63. Caso, La existencia romo econom{a, pp. 88-90. 64. Ibid., pp. 90-91. 65. The work of Rod6, the arielistas and the Ateneo de Ia juventud group represents an important expression of the idealistic-or to take Caso's suggestion-the "human­ istic" reaction against scientism. The essayists were not, however, alone in their desire to rejuvenate Spanish American thought and attitudes. The work of many different kinds of writers-poets, prosists, and pure philosophers-could be discussed in the context of these tendencies. Of particular importance was the work of the philosophers. In the rioplatense region, Carlos Vaz Ferreira and Alejandro Korn show, if not a clear rejection of positivism, newer viewpoints which go well beyond the rigidities of nine­ teenth-century scientism; while Peru's Alejandro 0. Deustua, drawing first upon the German nco-idealist Krause, and later upon Bergson, developed a philosophical position quite similar in many respects to that of Caso.

54

55

The Revolt Against Scientism

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

already met, Argentina's Jose Ingenieros.66 Both seem tempera·

mentally unable to accept the kind of thinking demanded by ir­

on his part to leave the comfort and security of nineteenth-century positivism.

rationalism ; both exercised great influence in their respective countries

Ingenieros-whom, incidentally, Molina admired greatly7l_was

through high academic and editorial positions ;67 and both were

even less suited by temperament to accept the ideas of the irration­

two essayists are shaped by the typically nineteenth-century dilemma

sympathy . . . and love. " Alejandro Korn, the philosopher, felt that

fundamentally reformers rather than radicals.

The ideas of these

of the thinker who accepts a deterministic position (in this case

social organicism) , but who nevertheless wishes to improve and act

alists.

One

of

his

commentators

noted

that he lacked "pity,

when Ingenieros was confronted by anything "mystical" or "meta­ physical," he was like a person without any "ear" who vainly tries to

pon his society. Faith in social meliorism, in reform, and activism

appreciate a delicate musical passage. 72 And Ingenieros himself, in

merely a bystander, capable only of observing the "unfolding" of

admits that his admiration notwithstanding, "For those of us who do

?

IS thus constantly corroded by a deep-seated conviction that man is

pre-determined forces of the growth of autonomous organisms.

Enrique Molina, for example, cannot bring himself to say that

man may act independently of the laws of causality ; however, he

speaking of the mystique in the North American ethical movement

not have a mystical temperament, this naturalistic mysticism will

always be a bit disconcerting. "73 Like Molina,

Ingenieros was

interested in social reform. He felt, however, that the betterment of

holds that causality and determinism should not be equated with

society depended in great measure upon the recognition of "ideals"

that it is only through a recognition of scientific determinism-the

sophic essay Hacia una moral sin dogmas (1917) , subtitled "Sobre

"fatalism."

In his Filosof£a Americana (1914) , he makes the point

and the derivation of an ethcial system from these.

In his philo­

law of cause and effect-that man can work effectively and scien­

Emerson y el eticismo," he attempts to tackle the difficult problems

was actually more concerned with developing a social philosophy-or social technology-than he was with solving the theoretical problems

metaphysics, or anything "supernatural." In typically Spencerian

tifically on his environment, and thus achieve freedom. 68 Molina

suggested by these ideas. Accordingly he found much to admire in the work of the North American social philosopher, Lester F. Ward.

of establishing an ethical code without recourse to religious dogma,

jargon he views this "morality without dogmas" as "a better adap­

tation of humanity to the environment in which it exists."74 However,

Ingenieros abandons biologism by inserting another term in his

In Ward's "sociocracy" Molina saw an ideal state, one in which the

argument : the "ideals" which are to serve as guideposts for the

but one which nevertheless would not "suffocate" men of genius. 69 Throughout his Filosofia Americana Molina stresses that under a

"idealism" is quite different from "ideism," a designation which he

fear of statism, since people are capable of controlling their own

them, arise when the imagination can "foresee" or anticipate ex­

seldom discusses the crucial question of just what society's ideals

Ideals . . . are natural formations : they appear when the thought process reaches such a state of development that the imagination can anticipate experience. They are not mysterious entities that

masses, the "little man," could have a truly representative voice,

"sociocratic" organization society could pursue its "ideals" without

destiny through the proper employment of social techniques. Molina

are or how they are evolved, but one would assume that the Chilean thinker held a vaguely defined, deep-seated belief in utilitarianism.

The general tone of his work, as well as his frequent and specific

criticisms of Bergsonian irrationalism, 70 indicate a marked reluctance 6n. For a. discussion of Ingenieros' race thinking, see above, Chapter II, pp. 29-31. 67. Molina was until 1957 editor of the highly respected journa.l of letters and ideas, Atenea; while Ingenieros edited the important Ret>ista de Filosof£a from 1915 until his death in 1925. 68. Enrique Molina, Filosofia americana (Paris ,1914), pp. 1-65. 69. Ibid., p. 242. 70. As late a.s 192.5 Molina was critical of Bergson. His article "Jose Ingenieros," A tenea, II (Nov., 1925), 411-18, praises his Argentine colleague warmly for having

ethical code. He takes pains to have his readers understand that reserves for the metaphysical notion of the "idea" as used in H�gelian or Platonic philosophy.

"Ideals," as the Argentine essayist envisions

perience :

fought the good fight against the "filosoffa intuicionista.." Molina's appreciation of the irrational trend increased somewhat in his later writings. See especially his "Concepci6n filos6fica.," Atene.a, XVIII (Dec., 1941), 281-317 ; and "La filosoffa en Chile en Ia primers mitad del siglo XX," Atenea, XXVIII (Sept.-Oct., 1951), 213-77. 71. See note 70 above. 72. Cited by Leon Dujovne, La obra filosofica de Jos� lngenieros (Buenos Aires, 1930) , pp. 120-21. 73. Jose lngenieros, Haria una moral sin dogmas : Lecciones sobre Emerson y el eticismo (Buenos Aires, 1917), pp. 193-94. 74. Ibid., p. 74.

56

57

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The RevoU Against Scientism

appear by chance ; they are formed like any phenomenon cap­ able of being observed, they are effects coming from causes . . . they are induced on the basis of vast experience, upon which the imagination fixes itself in order to foresee the direction which Humanity will take . . . . 75

what he considered the only path toward knowledge, empiricism. 79

Ingenieros, in effect, bases his ethical code on a typically deter­ ministic notion of the unfolding of a pre-existing pattern; man, through his "imagination," can only glimpse the direction toward which this process is moving; he may then plan, organize, and direct his future accordingly. As a good Socialist, Ingenieros would like to see man improve his lot and reform his society. He does not, however, feel that the naturalistic determinism to which he adheres will necessarily impede human efforts toward these ends.

"Improve­

ment" and social betterment are in his none-too-logical view "natural" phenomena, since "altntism is as innate and as natural as egoism. "16 Drawing upon Emerson, he further refines this viewpoint by stressing that "evil," though natural,

represents "moral pathology . . . a

monstrosity or sickness ." 77 Ingenieros' best known essay, El hombre mediocre (1918) , is grounded on the same concept of idealism.

In the Proposiciones he discusses the relationship of "metaphysics" to knowledge in a manner analogous to his treatment of " ideals" and social progress. Just as "ideals" are previews of what the future holds for society, "metaphysics" anticipates what science will later show to be empirically true. By virtue of his "imagination" the superior man, be he idealist or scientist, is in some way attuned to these future developments. Ingenieros skirts the crucial matter of just how the "imagination" glimpses that which is to come. Though he does not acknowledge it, he was in effect using a term perilously akin to the "intuition" of the Bergsonians and others whom he oppos­ ed. In short, the Proposiciones may be of some use in developing a phi­ losophy of science or in establishing a framework for sociology, but as an over-all philosophic world-view it is deficient, inconsistent, and totally lacking in concern for the human condition. Despite the efforts of writers such as Molina and Ingenieros, the revolt against scientism in general and positivism in particular continued to gain momentum. Virtually everything which will be discussed in the chapters to follow may be looked upon as an out­

The superior individual

growth of this general trend. The flowering of a revitalized sensi­

forges the great ideals of his time, while the lower levels of society

tivity to all America-what writers to the south have called no­

follow-or should follow-the lead of the superior. As Rod6 pointed

vomundismo (New Worldism)-is one such outgrowth. Without the liberating effect of the revolt against scientism this "rediscovery of

out before, and as Ortega was to point out later, the great problem of modem society was that the masses failed to recognize their true leaders, and that therefore genuinely superior ideals were not heeded. Again the underlying contradictions in Ingenieros' thought may be seen : his attacks on the egocentrism of the Nietzschean ethic are frequent, 78 and yet he will build an entire essay around an idea which is, in some respects, similar to the German philosopher's glorification of the superman. Ingenieros made a desperate effort to put the newer intellectual currents of vitalism and irrationalism in their "philosophic place. " The essays already discussed attempted t o d o this indirectly, while his more technical Proposiciones relativas al porvenir de la filosofta

(1918) was a direct attack on all philosophies which deviated from 75. Ibid., p. 175. 76. Ibid., p. 181. 77. Ibid., p. 198. 78. For further discussion of Ingenieros' ambivalence regarding Nietzsche, see Dujovne La o1Yra jilos6jica, p. 11. A typical critique of the German thinker appears in the Hacla una moral, p. 146, where Ingenieros includes Schopenhauer and Stendhal as other representatives of a "dangerous tendency towards moralistic individualism."

America" might never have come about ; certainly its distinctively humanistic fervor and faith in man's creativity would have been less intense. 79. For a critical discussion of Ingenieros' antivitalist position, partic�rly his misunderstanding of Bergson and Ortega, see Julio Endara, Jos� Ingemeros Y el port�enir de la jilosof!a (Buenos Aires, 1922).

Jl�erica llediscovered

59

genre's history,1 they have become particularly pressing during the contemporary period. Students of Spanish American culture have often noted that the

IV

I AMERICA

RED ISCOVERED

first few decades of the twentieth century are characterized by a

marked spirit of Americanism and nativism. It is a time when the continent attempts to replace European social, political, and aesthetic

models by social institutions, political structures, and artistic creations of her own making. It is not difficult to explain why this reaction

against Europe came about. As the century progressed it became in­

creasingly evident that European culture might not be as worthy of emulation as was once thought. The possibility that war, depression,

and totalitarianism might thoroughly exhaust the traditional centers

SINCE THE MOMENTOUS DAYS OF DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST,

of Western civilization gradually became quite real. But aside from

the New World-the lartd, the people, the very air-has fascinated speculative writers and especially essayists. European views re­

these external factors, the intellectual changes occurring in Spanish

garding the Americas run the gamut of awe, picturesque interest,

of Americanism. The repudiation of scientism with the concomitant

wide a range of attitudes, but the persistent matter of viewpoint

fail to make Spanish Americans assess their own potentialities with

hope, and at times, disdain. The native Americanist expresses as

makes his task more difficult and often more dramatic. His problem

is not unlike that of the autobiographer. Shall he look into the

mirror of his experience and consciousness describing what he finds,

or shall he try to gain the objectivity of the outside observer? Shall the cosmopolite of Buenos Aires or Mexico City attempt a reflective analysis of himself and his ethos by means of a mirror of his own

making, or shall he formulate this analysis using the intellectual

instruments of the general European culture? And just what is the significance of a "different, " an American, viewpoint? Is the American simply a product of the Old World who merely happens to live geographically removed from the centers of this culture, or is he

something quite unique? And why establish a sharp distinction

between Europe and the New World? If a dividing line is in order

could it not be drawn horizontally rather than vertically: Doesn't the

Latin of the Western Hemisphere have more in common with Mediterranean Europe than he does with North America? Finally,

is the entire question of one's relationship to other cultures or to a "universal" culture a valid one? Is it really possible for a writer to

achieve that vantage point which enables him to judge these matters with any degree of objectivity? Although such questions have

fignred prominently in the Spanish American essay throughout the

America herself had a profound effect in stimulating the new spirit

exaltation of humanistic values and of man's creativeness could not

increasing optimism. In a world whose most valued goals were technical progress, material abundance, and a "rationally" ordered

middle class society, Hispanic America might well feel inferior ; but

the essayists whom we are about to consider saw that these typically

nineteenth-century values were in retreat. Hence they write of the new America in tones of hope and confidence.

1. If a broad definition of the essay is accepted, the roots of the Americanist con­ cern may justifiably be traced to the writings of the sixteenth-century-: cronistas: Bernal Dfaz del Castillo, Alvar Ntinez Cabeza de Vaca, Father Bartolome de las Casas, Father Bernardo de Sahagtin, Father Jose de Acosta, and others. Later in the colonial period the Mestizo chronicler, Inca Garcilaso de Ia Vega wrote his Comen­ tarios reales (1608-1616), perhaps the first "essay" in which a distinctly Americanist viewpoint prevail'!. The eighteenth centur saw much essayistic activity centered about the growing desire for political and cult.ural independence. The most impressive work of the period is that of the Jesuit humanists and va�ious lay writers of Spa�ish America's Enlightenment. For an excellent study of this movement see Mariano Pic6n Salas, De la conqui.�ta a l.a independe�a. (Mexico, 1950). Of the early ind� pendence period, the most noteworthy contribution t_o the developme�t ?f th': �en­ canist concern would be the speeches, letters, and miScellaneous essayJstic wntmgs of Sim6n Bolivar, especially his Carta de Jamaica (1815) and the Discurso al Congreso de Angostura (1819). Although nationally oriented essays seem to predomina�e duri�g the nineteenth century, several transcend local concerns and must be considered m any outline of the Americ�nist preoc.cupation ; the essays of Argentina's gre!'-test . prosist of the century, Dommgo Faustino Sarmiento, Facu � (184�) an� Co11;ftteto y armonia de las razas en America (1883) ; the works of Chile s anti-Spamsh liberals, Francisco Bilbao author of the Et•angelio americana (1864), and Jose Victorino Lastar­ ria La Am�rica' (1867) ; and finally the writings of Cuba's great Jose Mart! whose de otion to the American ideal is evident in dozens of essays scattered throughout the some seventy volumes of his complete works.

�

60

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

A long-forgotten polemic between two very different Mexican

writers will perhaps illustrate the spirit of the younger generation of novomundistas (New Worldists) . When Antonio Caso wrote, in the

early twenties, of the glorious future of the New World, he was

sharply criticized by Francisco Bulnes, then rector of the National University. Caso's view of America's destiny in the article "En America dira su ultima palabra Ia civilizaci6n latina" ("In America Latin Civilization Will Say Its Final Word") was typical of his enthusiastic, creative attitude toward the future. Bulnes, who had been one of the prominent cientificos of the Diaz period, had written a lengthy, inconsistent essay, El Porvenir de las naciones latino­

americanas ( 1899) , which stressed the notion that Latin America had little hope of achieving any greatness since the corn-based nutrition of the masses could only produce an "inferior" human product. Caso's reply t; Bulnes' pessimism is an eloquent expression of how remote the world of the cientificos was from that of the younger generation : "Seiior Bulnes, as the only opposing argument, takes off and exhibits his historic high-buttoned shoes which he wore during those remote pseudo-scientific nineteenth-century soirees when he read, in preparation for what might be called his general culture, the acid works of Mr. Gustave Le Bon and those of the great

and unbending Herbert Spencer.2" An important manifestation of the new Americanism in the essay may be seen in the growth of indigenism. A brief working definition of the term itself might be that indigenism is a sympathetic aware­ ness of the native American. This awareness may vary in intensity

from a mild, "picturesque" interest to fervent devotion to the cause of reforming New World culture on an indigenous pattern. Aside

from the many versions of indigenism found in the essay, contem­ porary Spanish American art and social science have reflected the

same interest. But exactly who is the native American-the indigena -as used in our definition? The answer will vary. One writer will

restrict its meaning to the biologically "pure" Indian, assuming

for a moment that the concept of racial purity is meaningful ; another will include the Indian's half-brother, the mestizo; others equate

indigena with virtually any native-born American of non-European

stock; and finally, many writers abandon biology and genetics

completely. The indigena, they say, must be culturally defined : he who J ives as an Indian is an Indian ; he who has a "mixed" culture,

2. Antonio Caso, "El enemigo de Ia tierraY' Repertorio Americano, IV (1922), 172.

i s a mestizo, etc.

61

I n one form o r another, this last attitude i s the

most characteristic of the more recent essayists. Modern indigenism,

following the broad lines of the rejection of scientism, tends to refute not only the prejudiced, pessimistic "classical" racism, but even the race concept itself. Although the essayists who have contributed most significantly to this glorification of nativism write from a particular national viewpoint, the nature of the subject tends to make political frontiers fade into the background. The writers of Peru and Bolivia-Manuel Gonzalez Prada, Franz Tamayo, or Fernando D!ez de Medina, for example-have a regional outlook rather than a national one. And some of the most celebrated essays in this tradition, Vasconcelos'

La raza c6smica and Indologia or Ricardo Rojas' Eurindia, are

clearly continental in orientation. Even the usual divisions of Spanish America into "white" or "European" regions versus "Indian" regions tend to disappear in the indigenistas' desire to point out the distinctively autochthonous nature of New World culture. Indicative of the continental nature of this interest is the fact

that one of the first essayists to stress indigenism in the twentieth

century,3 Ricardo Rojas (1882-1957), was from Argentina, often

considered the least "Indian" and most European nation of Spanish

America. His work, moreover, is particularly interesting as it

reveals not only the positive side of indigenism, but also some of the

pitfalls and excesses of the nativist position.4 Rojas' earliest treat­

ment of the Indian is frankly romantic and sentimental. In a

speech of 1905 he recalls his youthful desire to saturate himself in everything native : "Everything told us of the renovation whilih had

already begun, and having witnessed it from a distance, I wanted to plunge myself into the native forests, to take by surprise the last avatars of the spirit of the race, to save from oblivion their most

genuine creations . . . the ballads, the folk dances, and the ingenuous 3. There are, however, important antecedents of contemporary indigenism in the nineteenth century. Examples may be seen in the ideas of the Peruvian radical Manuel Gonz8lez Prada (see below, Chapter V, pp. 109-11) and in a number of Mexican writers of the Dfaz period. Regarding these, see the author's "Indigenism and Racism in Mexican Thought : 1857-1911," Journal of Inter-American Studies, I

(1959) , 405-23. . 4. See Alberto Zum Felde, lndice cr!tico de la literatura . hispa.nt?a_mencana : I-o� ?! Ro�as c�tic�ms penetratmg emayistas (M6xico, 1954), pp. 447-54. � also the general Americanism by Luis E. Soto, Ricardo Rojas y la Amencamdad, Rern.sta Iberoamericana No. 46 (julio/die., 1958), 317-33; and the similarly oriented article of Bernardo C�nal Feij6o "Sobre el americanismo de Ricardo Rojas," Revista lbero­ americana, No. 46 (julio/die., 1958), 221-26. This entir� issue (No . 46) of the Revista, •

a homage to Rojas, contains Several other relevant studies.

62

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

America Rediscovered

customs . . . . "5 Much of Rojas' work during the early decades of

included, it is an almost mystical adoration of nature, a kind of inter­

the century was devoted to a revitalization or, as he himself called it, a "restoration" of Argentine nationalism. Although he is often

thought of as an inveterate jingoist, 6 it is seldom stressed that the one element which distinguishes his "restored" nationalism is his emphasis on an all-pervading Indian spirit in Argentina. Thus, in one of his best-known essays, Eurindia (1924) , he attempts to answer the objections of his countrymen of pure European stock who feel that as such they have nothing in common with Indians or mestizos : "Race . . . is a spiritual phenomenon, collective in meaning, determined by a language and a territory, or perhaps by an ideal. Accordingly, individuals, regardless of their native origin, perform as a function of an historical group. . . . " 7 Here, as in many other

instances, Rojas gives great weight to the physical environment

�

in shaping national or oup characteristics. The character of the native of any given place thus becomes, to some degree, a product of what Rojas calls the genius loci: National territory is :riot only a political jurisdiction, but a retort of co.c:;mic forces that shapes the race, giving it a regional char­ acter, transcending man or history. . . .

63

relationship between man and the land which liberates rather than constrains. He who comprehends nature, who is sensitive to the land and its elemental forces is more genuine, more authentic than the overcivilized city dweller. 9 This rather romantic exaltation of nature

is intimately related to the glorification of the indigena ; for it is the native who is closest to the land. In certain essayists, as we shall see, the city-as a symbol of everything artificial, European, and materialistic-is mercilessly attacked, while the country, the natural realm, is greatly praised. The values of Sarmiento's celebrated formula of 1845 describing American reality in terms of "civilization and barbarism" are thus reversed. An interesting example of an early indigenist viewpoint, and one that illustrates many of the trends noted above, appears in an im­ portant, but little-known essay of B olivia's Franz Tamayo (1879-

1956) : La creacion de la pedagogia nacional (1910) . Tamayo's vigorous rejection of scientism might well have been analyzed in the previous chapter: his succinct observation, "In the laboratory every­ thing is known except knowledge," 10 is as good a summation of his position as one would wish to find. Although science is helpful in a limited sphere, it has not solved problems of human existence and

Race is not only a matter of the scientific ethnos, but also the collective conscience of a people confirmed by a territorial emotion and by a common historical experience. 8 The "territorial emotion" and "common historical experience"

motivation : "It is necessary to search somewhere else for the un­ alterable source of our actions."11 Tamayo refutes Haeckel, Buchner, and the social Darwinists roundly, and he terms historical determinism "a naive error of Comtians and Taineans."12 The affirmative side

then, link even the white Argentine cosmopolite to the Indians that

of Tamayo's thought rests solidly on his belief that only a kind of

once inhabited the coastal Pampas; similarly, the modern dwellers of the Andean plateaus would have much in common with the

both present and past : "Energy . . . is the ultimate word and also

Argentines of the Northwest (the region, incidentally from which Rojas comes) . It might appear that the great weight assigned by

"vital energy" and the will can explain the nature of human events the ultimate explanation for life . . . . All that remains is the will, undebated and undebatable, the soul of empires, the master spring

Rojas to physical environment could lead to a determinism as rigid

of all history. . . . "13 In a very Nietzschean tone he calls for Bolivian

as that invoked by the racists.

youth to concentrate on the full development of their vital energy :

Geographic determinism has often

gone hand in hand with the typically quasiscientific thought which Rojas and his generation were attempting to combat. However, the "force of the land," as viewed by Spanish American essayists of the twentieth century, differs substantially from the rigid, "scientific" environmentalism of an Ellsworth Huntington. For many, Rojas 5. Ricardo Rojas, ObrlUl completas (Buenos Aires, 1924), VI, 278. 6. See the criticisms indicated in note 4 above, especially the article by Soto. 7. Rojas, Obra8 completo.8, V, 69. 8. Ibid., p. 332.

in effect, he exhorts them to become "little savages."14 9. This theme has been very evident in contemporary Spanish American literature. The romantic primitivism of the poet Pablo Neruda (as seen in hi� Residencia en la tierra) illustrates this trend particularly well. We shall also note, m later chapters, that such writers as Ezequiel Martinez Estrada and Octavio Paz have dealt at some length with the general theme of man's alienation from the natural realm. 10. Franz Tamayo, La creaci6n de Ia pedogogfu nacional (La Paz, 1910), p. 207 . 1 1 . Ibid., p. 210. 12. Ibid., p. 207. 13. Ibid., p. 211. 14. Ibid., pp. 212-13.

64

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Tamayo feels that the inexhaustible supply of energy upon which

national development depends is to be found in the Indian masses : "the Indian is the true depository of national energy."15 The racistic,

"surgical" attitude of writers like his compatriot, Alcides Arguedas

(whom Tamayo does not specifically mention) , is vigorously refuted : "Bolivia is not sick of anything except the illogicality and absurdity of granting power and superiority to those who do not really possess these qualities, and of denying the eternal rights of power to its legitimate representatives."16 The apparent victory of the whites during the conquest was only temporary and superficial; the pure European can only survive by miscegenation with the native Ameri­ can. "Interbreed or perish" is the only choice for the white man, for "energy is not on his side."17 The Indian's energy, his vital force, is not what, in terms of nineteenth-century scientism, woul� be called a "racial" trait, for Tamayo denounces the "scientific" study of races as "an insoluble maze, completely entangled by contradictions."18 Earlier in his essay he even speaks of concepts such as race as "pape� fa9ades behind which there does not exist a physically real or logically valid entity."19 From what source, then, does the vital energy of the indigena come? Apparently to a great extent from the land itself. Tamayo,

like Rojas, gives great importance to what he calls "the force of the land and the spirit [genio] of the place."20 These concepts are at times phrased in mystical terms ("the land has its own spirit which gives life to the germinating tree and to man who flourishes upon the earth's surface"21) , and at other times in fairly specific, scientific terms, as when it is stated that the chemical salts in the food and water of the Andean Indian are responsible for his strength.22 Like

the massive Andes which surround him, the Indian's soul "seems to

be made of granite."23 This rock-like solidity is the native's "dif­

ficulty as well as his greatness." The nation's great educational problem, as seen by Tamayo, lies in preserving the "granitic"

strength of the Indians: the whites and mestizos must be educated to appreciate this native force, and the Indian must be "prophy15. Ibid p. 58. 16. Ibid., p. 60. 17. Ibid., pp. 62-63. 18. Ibid., p. 144. 19. Ibid., p. 20. 20. Ibid., p. 163. 21. Ibid., p. 161. 22. Ibid., p. 162. 23. Ibid., p. 138. .,

65

America Rediscovered

lactically" indoctrinated in order that while gaining modern knowl­ edge he will not lose his natural energy and vigor.24 The idea that city life-always associated with the European-is decadent, cor­

rupting, and inferior in comparison to country life (considered, of course, typical of the Indian) underlies Tamayo's thought. This profound indigenism, linked physically and spiritually with the land, is the defining characteristic of his Americanism. His primary con­ cern for Bolivia notwithstanding, Tamayo's attitudes imply a very basic novomundista viewpoint, for he clearly believes that the New World and its original inhabitants exercise a powerful formative influence on all contemporary Americans. His remark that even "in the native Yankee, despite all appearances, the redskin is re­ suscitated"25 is a good expression of what could be called this radically Americanist position .2 6

The most impressive flowering of Spanish American indigenism is, in all probability, that of Mexico of the 1920's; and its most out­ standing spokesman is Jose Vasconcelos.27 The course of Mexican indigenism has been rather different from that of the South American continent. Although the Indian and his culture had been almost

forgotten during the Diaz regime, it is difficult to encounter markedly racistic, anti-Indian feelings in the essay of that period.

Despite

the fact that he had been economically exploited by the upper

classes and generally ignored by creative artists, the Indian of nineteenth-century Mexico was surprisingly well appreciated by a

number of important writers, including at least one major figure in

the Dfaz circle I Justo Sierra.28 But with the Revolution and its � emphasis on land reform led by popular, pro-indigenist cliieftains

such as Emiliano Zapata, a tremendous vindication of everything

native took place. Vasconcelos, from his important position as Minister of Education in the Obreg6n regime (1920-25) , was not

only an interpreter of this movement, but also played an impor24.

Ibid

25. Ibid., p. 162. . 26. A polemic betwe':n . Tamayo and the �pall!sh essaytst R�mir� de .

�

aeztu further illustrates the BoliVIan's profound Amencamsm. In an article titled Carta de Americanos para Americanos, ". Repertorio A "!ericano XII_I (19?6), 177-80, Tam��;yo criticizes the Spanish for fostenng an. exclusively pan-Hispamc movem�nt �hich didn't take into account the unique spirit of the New World. For the Spamsh side of the question, see Ratniro de Maeztu, "El mito de Ia raza," Repertorio Americana, XV .

.

(1927), 214-15. 27. Regarding Vasconcelos' Important early work m collaboration With the Ateneo de la Juventud group, see above, Chapter III, pp. 48-50. 28. For a resume of Sierr.l's indigenism see Stabb, "Indigeniam and Racism," Journal of Inter-American Studies, pp. 405-23. 0

0

0

0

66

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTI'l'Y

tant role in directing its course.29

67

His great nationalistic fervor

of the National University,33 and finally his encouragement of the

notwithstanding, Vasconcelos' two major essays on the indigenist

widespread university reform movements of the early twenties was

theme, La raza c6smica (1925) and Indolog!a (1926) are clearly

warmly praised by student leaders throughout the continent.34 The first phase of indigenism is rough-hewn, hastily conceived,

continental in scope. These two works of Vasconcelos, while representative of a rather glib, rhetorical Americanism, have been widely read.

Perhaps the

title of the first essay has had the appeal of a motto; when the in­ terested reader goes beyond the first chapter, however, he may well be disappointed, for the major portion of the book deals primarily with the author's travel experiences throughout the continent. Even the more important first chapter is marred by Vasconcelos' fanciful revival of the Atlantis myth and by a rather outmoded concept of race. The main p�int of the essay, the idea that the destiny of America is tbe amalgamation of all the "races" of tlie world into one great "cosmic" race of the future,30 rests upon a simplistic concept of "pure" and "mixed" races. It is true that Vasconcelos, unlike the racists, looks upon this future mixture with great optimism, for such a people would combine all the best of its contributing groups.

The value of La raza c6smica and the similar Indologia is lessened, however, by a grandiose vision of a future

and very susceptible to attack. It was often propagandistic and j ournalistic. Rojas' glib reduction of Argentine, and by extension Spanish American, cultural history to two trends, "lndianism" and "exoticism, " cannot withstand careful analysis. Tamayo's Nietz­ schean worship of force leads to certain logical inconsistencies as well as to a perilous emphasis on authoritarianism. Vasconcelos' ver­ bosity-what Spanish American critics often call "tropicalism"-led him to create fantasies that are often completely untenable.

But

the ideas of the three essayists certainly served as point� of departure for further-and more fruitful-investigation of the basic questions of the new Americanism. Before examining some of the more recent essays devoted to this theme, the catalytic effect of several writers from outside Spanish America must be considered. It would be difficult to find two men as different as Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) and Waldo David Frank (1889-1967). Yet both exercised, in dissimilar ways, a profound influence upon the con­ temporary essayists of Spanish America. Ortega, modem Spain's

tropical American paradise which Vasconcelos fails to relate to the

best-known philosopher and essayist (with the possible exception of

realities of his time.31 Despite this weakness and despite his later

Miguel de Unamuno) visited Spanish America in 1916 and again in

conservatism, Vasconcelos certainly played an important role in the

1929. Stemming from these visits, and from his own meditations on the New World, are several important essays : "Carta a un joven argentino que estudia filosofia" ( 1924) , "Hegel y America" (1928) ,

diffusion of a broadly conceived Hispano-Americanism both in Mexico and indirectly in other countries.32 As Minister of Education he made it possible for Pedro Henriquez Urena to undertake a cultural mission to Argentina in 192 1 ; at about the same time, Gabriela Mistral, the budding Chilean poetess (and ardent American­ ist in her prose) was invited by him to teach at the summer school 29. Among some of Vasconcelos' specific acts as a promulgator of indigenism are the following: the establishment of a government supported program in the graphic arts (the Direcci6n de dibujo and the Revolutionary Syndicate of Technical Workers Painters and Sculptors) having a distinctly nativist orientation; the setting-up of the "Cultural Missions" which sent volunteer teachers to the backlands in order to educate the Indians and yet preserve much of their folk-culture; and the support of periodicals such as the review El Maestro which stressed doctrines of Americanism and nativism among the growing ranks of postrevolutionary school teachers. 30. Jos6 Vasconcelos, La raza c6smica (Barcelona, n . d.), p. 16. 31. See the critique of Zum Felde, Indice critico, p. 426. 32. Vasconcelos on occasion even expreRSed his Americanist faith in the United States, a nation which he frequently attacked bitterly. His speech before the Cha­ tauqua Society on Mexico's educational program is a fine expression of liberal racial thought and confidence in the future of the New World. The speech is reprinted as "La educaci6n en Clicxico," Repertorio Americana, V (1922), 376-78 and 386-89.

and "La pampa . . . promesas"-(1929) . Although these works. gave rise to a good deal of comment in Spanish America, Ortega's greater contribution to the continent's intellectual and literary development was undoubtedly his work as a disseminator of European thought through the medium of his excellent journal the Revista de Occidente. 33. Gabriela Mistral expressed her fervent Americanism often during this period (the early twenties). Her remarks on the occasion of the close of classes at the summer school were particularly eloquent. This speech, directed incidentally at a student body which included many North Americans, was printed first in the newspaper Excelsior and then as "Mexico y los Estados Unidos, " Repertorio A mericano, IV (1922), 365. Earlier she expounded her Americanism in even more eloquent terms: "i Am6rica, Am6ricai ) Todo por ella, porque todo nos vendra de l elia . . . Haz amar Ia luminosa . meseta mexicana, Ia verde estepa de Venezuela, Ia negra selva austral. . . . " ("EI grito, Repertorio Americana IV 11922], 45.) 34. The various university reform movements not only aimed at giving students a greater voice in choosing faculty, but also were often oriented toward political radical­ ism. Several of the writers under discussion began their literary careers as leaders of such movments. An outstanding case is that of Peru's Haya de Ia Torre (see below, Chapter V, pp. 1 24-27). ,

68

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Furthermore, Ortega's own vast general writings on literature

f

philosophy, and history cannot be discounted in the shaping o present-day Spanish American thought. Waldo Frank, in contrast to Ortega, never enjoyed wide acclaim in his own country. I do not think it would be an exaggeration to say that he was better known and perhaps more appreciated in Latin America than he was in the United States. Frank, however, traveled much more extensively in Spanish America than Ortega, and his contacts with Latin writers and intellectuals seem to have been warmer and on a more personal level. At a time when Spanish American writers were struggling to define their relationship to Europe and North America and to clarify a number of vexing problems within their own culture, the observations of these and other foreigners (those of Jacques Maritain and Count Keyserling, f_or example) provided new perspectives and

69

which surround it. AB Ortega's thought is developed, activism char­ acterizes this relationship : life is then defined as what I do with those things which make up my "circumstance." Ortega stresses that this action upon "that which surrounds us" must not be haphazard or un­ directed ; rather one chooses a "mission," a "project," a destiny. The amount of freedom enjoyed by the individual to act within his "circumstance" is a nice question, but one which would carry this discussion far afield.36 Life-the radical reality-is in Ortega's view a project, a "doing" ; it must be thought of as a verb rather than as a noun. This position-formulated as early as the 1920's-has a decidedly existential flavor; however, the exact nature of Ortega's relationship to the mainstream of existentialism is an involved problem and one which has been studied at length elsewhere.37 Ortega's view of reality bears closer analysis in any attempt to

fresh idealogical leaven. Ortega, educated in pre-World War Germany, was, to put things bluntly, dazzled by German philosophy and the German spirit. The burden of one of hts most celebrated essays, Espana invertebrada ( 1922), is that the weakness and backwardness of modern Spain can be traced to the relatively minor role Germanic peoples played in her formation. Among the works translated into Spanish by his Revista de Occidente publishing firm, modern German masterpieces figure prominently. These include Spengler's Decline of the West ( 1923), Hegel's Philosophy of Universal History ( 1928), and later, important works of Dilthey, Husser!, and Brentano. To characterize the complex philosophy of Ortega in a few lines

relate his thought to Spanish America. If the radical reality-life -is looked upon as an interaction between the individual and his circumstance, then the path to reality becomes a very personal, individual process of first recognizing the authentic circumstance, and subsequently acting upon it. Following this line of thought, it can be seen that an Argentinean or a Mexican may approach the radical reality-by analyzing his circumstance and then acting upon it-just as effectively as one of Ortega's famous mentors at

would be fruitless : several major themes would, however, stand out

terms of a very different "circumstance," would be unthinkable.

in any over-all view of his thought. Vitalism, historicism, and in his later works, existentialism, have frequently been ascribed to him.35 His celebrated "vital reason" (raz6n vital) takes as its "radical reality," "life , " which is in turn defined as "what we do and what

As early as 1910 Ortega himself stated that he was seeking "the

happens to us."In the key phrase "I am myself and my circumstance," Ortega further clarifies this "radical reality. " "Circumstance" has a literal connotation of circum stantia, (i.e., "that which surrounds

could take heart in the knowledge that their efforts now had a

·

me" ) , and life is a kind of interaction between the ego and the things 35. Of the many studies dealing with Ortega's fundamental ideas see especially Julian Marias, "Ortega y Ia idea de Ia raz6n vital," in his El existencialismo en Espana (Bogota, 1953) ; Hugo Rodriguez Alcala, "Existencia y destino humanos en Jooo Ortega y Gasset y Jean-Paul Sartre," in Ensayos de Norte a Sur (M6xico, 1960; ; Job6 Ferr�ter Morn, O;tega y Gasset: An Outline of his Philosophy (New Haven, 1957) ; Pauhno Garagorn, Ortega, una reforma de la filosofia (Madrid, 1958) ; and Francisco Romero, Ortega y Gasset y el problema de la jefatura espiritual, y otros ensayos (Buenos Aires, 1960) .

Marburg. Carrying the logic of the position a bit further, the Argentinean or Mexican is virtually condemned to seek reality in terms of interaction with his own circumstance ; for him to pursue it through bookish "universal" philosophic systems, evolved in

Spanish interpretation of the world."· 8 The implications of Ortega's fundamental position were tremendous in the context of the Spanish American intellectual scene of the 1920's.

Budding philosophers

validity undreamed of a few years earlier; and the careful investi­ gation of the "circumstance"-in all its aspects-acquired fresh significance and greater urgency. Ortega's actual contact with Spanish America antedates his Argentine visit of 1916. Alfonso Reyes speaks of his acquaintance 36. See especially Rodriguez Alcala's discussion of this question in his study cited above, note 35. 37. See Jos6 Sanchez Villasefior, Ortega y Gasset, Existentialist (Chicago, 1944). 38. Cited by Marias, El existencialismo, p. 46.

70

71

l N QUEST OF IDENTITY

America Redi.�rovered

with Ortega in Europe during 1914.39 In the same year Ortega published an important article "La voluntad del barroco" in the Revista de A merica, a journal whose significance we have already noted. This article, though written before the young philosopher had worked out his theory of la raz6n vital, complements the analysis of Spanish American intellectual development presented in the previous chapter, for in it Ortega comes out clearly for "overcoming determinism, that is, the materialistic determinism . . . of the physical realm."40 The 1916 visit itself made a deep impression on the writers of the Rio Plata region. One critic has suggested that it was this onslaught of Orteguian ideas which induced that staunch defender of positivism, Jose Ingenieros, to attempt the reconciliation of science and metaphysics in his Proposiciones relativas al porvenir de la filosofia (1918).41 Years later, Alejandro Korn called Ortega's coming "an event," and there is evidence that Korn's own philO­ sophic trajectory was altered substantially at about this time.n Ortega seemed particularly skillful in passing out left-handed compliments to Spanish America. In his 1924 piece, "Carta a un joven argentino que estudia filosoffa," he praises the vigor, freshness, and vitality of America; but he also chastises Argentineans (and Americans in general) for not having enough intellectual discipline.43 In his more extensive "Hegel y America" he restates the German phi­ losopher's basic distinction between the "True State" and "Nature". In the "True State" historical development (the manifestation of Spirit, to use Hegel's peculiar terminology) takes place, and thus events follow each other as part of a meaningful pattern. In "Na­ ture," however, events simply are repeated, and often identically ; there is no development, no trajectory-in short, history does not exist.« Since Hegel felt that the "True State" could only be found in areas which had a relatively dense population and which had already reached a certain degree of civilization, it is clear that in the Hegelian view America must be relegated to the ahistoric world of Nature.45 Another point which Ortega apparently accepts is that

when a European comes to dwell in the wilds of the natural realm, in this case America, he reverts to a kind of primitive.48 Ortega interprets these ideas rather optimistically : the primitivism of the New World is vigorous and virile ; Americans may be likened to the Germanic barbarians who roamed Europe 2,000 years ago.47 In short the future belongs to the Americas.48 The problem of how the transition from the natural realm to that status which permits true historical development to occur is, however, not discussed. In this same article, Ortega seems to agree with another curious Hegelian viewpoint ; namely, that the flora and fauna (including the human stock) of America were weak or "frail."49 This point is not developed in any detail, nor has it, to my knowledge, been taken up by Ortega's Spanish American readers. The natural realm, especially the influence of the land, is the point of departure for the Spanish thinker's third essay on New World themes. In "La pampa . . . promesas" Ortega offers the interesting view that Argentine character has been deeply affected by the presence of an ever-receding, ever-"promising" horizon. 50 This situation leads to a constant projecting forward, to a constant existence "outside of oneself" and, in retrospect, to a profound sense of frustration and emptiness. 51 When a European speaks with an Argentinean he feels this as a kind of absence : "his intimacy is not present. What we see is, then, a mask. . . . To sum up, we note a lack of authenticity. "62 The falseness or insincerity is further aggravated by the Argentinean's defensiveness. Unlike the Euro­ pean, the Argentinean is incapable of "giving himself" completely to anything; he goes around within a shell of fear, perhaps brought on by the constant challenge of the newly arrived immigrant coupled with a deep-seated sense of his own hollowness : "he doesn't devote himself wholly to anything, he hasn't irrevocably submerged his existence in the service of something outside himself."63 Ortega even suggests that if one were to examine the sexual life of the typical Argentinean he would likely find this same inability to "give oneself" completely (entregarse).54 By far the most interesting point made in

39. Alfonso Reyes, "Treno para Ortega y Gasset," Cuadernos Americanos, XV (Jan.-Feb., 1956), 65-67. 40. Jos6 Ortega y Gasset, "La voluntad del barroco," Revista de Am.!rica, IV (June-July, 1914), 89. 41. See Julio Endara, Jost Ingenieros y el porvenir de la filosofta (Quito, 1921). 42. Zum Felde, Indice crltico, pp. 429-30. See also the article by Alejandro Korn' "Filosoffa argentina," Nosotros, LVII (1927}, 52-65. 43. Jos6 Ortega y GasRet, Obrm compleltu! (4th ed.; Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1957), II, 350. 44. Ibid., p. 568. 45. Ibid., pp. 569-70.

46. Ibid., p. 575. 47. Ibid., p. 576. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid., p. 571. 50. !bid., pp. 637-38. 51. Ibid., p. 640. 52. Ibid., p. 650. 53. Ibid., p. 658. 54. Ibid., p. 659.

72

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

America RedisCOfJered

the essay is closely related to the earlier matter of authenticity. Ortega finds in Argentine life an endemic "narcissism" which is

slight

73

appeal, the lyricism in the movement and the emphasis on

"the person" attracted Frank considerably.

A more radical culture

doubly pernicious since the image that is contemplated is hazy and

critique, that of Van Wyck Brooks, was more to his liking.60 The

with this fuzzy reflection of his true self. 55. Ortega closes his essay

Frank, and James Oppenheim provided Frank with a vehicle for

poorly defined.

Nevertheless the Argentinean remains infatuated

with the plea that a select minority of intellectuals lead the nation toward a recognition of her true image and "authentic" nature.

If

this is not done, Argentina's narcissism will keep her living in an un­ real, hollow world ; " . . . the serious thing about narcissism isn't that it disregards others, but that it tends to make one take no notice of his own real person . . . . " 5 6 Reaction to these specific essays and to

appearance of the review

The Seven Arts in 1916, edited by Brooks,

what he himself calls his "literary polemics." A number of important collaborators contributed to

The Seven Arts' "groping and experi­

menting in an aesthetic life" : John Dewey, Theodore Dreiser, H. L. Mencken, Louis Untermeyer, and Sherwood Anderson.

The group's

efforts according to Frank, "converge into a national program after

the general lines of Ortega's thought abound in the writing of many of

Whitman, by which America shall become a creative focus in the modern world."61 Our America, Frank's book of 1919, grew out of

clared "his trip to America has given a new direction to this 'dis­

claims, "stem from Whitman and Brooks : it begins also with the

Spanish America's most outstanding essayists.

Alfonso Reyes de­

covery of one's self' to which Ortega is commited,"57 while the lesser­ known, but extremely interesting Peruvian essayist, Antenor Orrego, has considered the concept of raz6n vital as a major advance in trans­ forming philosophy from a dry, bookish discipline to a living in­ strument for probing reality. 5 8 Further echos of Ortega's impact in Spanish America will become apparent as our study progresses. At

this point, however, the role played by another foreign visitor, Waldo Frank, must be examined. Waldo David Frank was part of a North American literary and

critical reaction which in certain respects was similar to that initiated by Rod6 and the

arielistas. Frank himself marks the genesis of this new era of "cultural criticism" by the publication, in 1909, of Herbert Croly's essay, The Promise of American Life. 5 9 Although Croly's

the preoccupations of the

Seven Arts group. The work, the author

attempt to form a usable past and from the analysis of the back­ ground to distill an energy for the future . Dynamically, it is a drama and a call."62 Frank himself admits that his book was "theoretical," "diffuse," and that "it rested at the verbal level."63 In it he analyzes the wide gap between American idealistic aspirations and the actual facts.

Though the book called for a profound revo­

lution, the precise nature of such a revolt was unclear; and the chief accomplishment of the work was to spread American discontent, at least among Frank's sympathizers. Frank's interest in and fascination with Hispanic peoples dates from a visit to Pueblo, Colorado, in the economic

1917. Here he was struck by

and cultural poverty of the

Mexican-Americans

living in a typically modern, dreary industrial town.

Coming from a

"fidelity to atrophied instruments for transformation" had only

Jewish background, Frank has consistently shown a good deal of

55. Ibid., pp. 660-62. 56. Ibid., p. 663. 57. Alfonso Reyes, "Jo� Ortega y Ga.sset," Cuba contempordnea, XVI (Jan., 1918),

involved more than the usual "liberal" concern over their being the

53.

. 58. Antenor Orrego, "�CmU es �a. cultura que crea.r� Am_6nca.?," 4mauta, _ II _ (April, 1928), 3-4. Further indicatiOns o� Ortega's dec�tve mfluence m Spa.�sh America. abound. Leopolda Zea. has stated , . . . Ia. aporta.ct6n de Ortega a. Ia. Am6nca IMrica . . . di6 a esta preocupaci6n por Ia rea.lidad americana Ia dignida.d de una filosofia Ia dignida.d de una. ciencia.; Ia de Ia ciencia europea., Ia ciencia occidenta.!. . . . " This stt{tement appears in his article "Ortega el Americana," Cuadernos Ammcanos, XV (Jan.-Feb., 1956), 138. This entire nu�ber of t�e . Cuader?Ws is � homage. to Ortega. and includes several other valuable pteces on his Impact m Spa.msh Amenca. Even more recently Juan Carlos Ghiano has written, "En Ia 1\I"gentina �e los Ultimo� treinta. aiios, el ensayo ha sido por lo general Ia forma expr.eslVa d� aphcados y cas1 . ha siempre deslumbrados lectores de . Orteg& y Gasset. �a mfluen�1a ortegwana amparado a ensayistas de �os m� diversos �ema�1 en. a��1tudes amphadas y renovada.s en los UJ.timos aiios." Ghiano, De ensaytstas, FtCC'ton, No. 27 (Sept.-Oct., 1961) p. 88. 59. Waldo Frank, The Re-di8covery of America (New York, 1929), p. 314.

sensitivity to minority problems.

However, his interest in minorities

victims of social and economic prejudice ; it was the loss of cultural identity which most disturbed him. In his

Re-discovery of America (1929) the metaphor of American culture as a "symphony orchestra"

all playing the same theme on different instruments and having distinctive timbres frequently appears. 64 It is in this manner that each individual group-the Negro, the Irish, the Mexican, the Jew, etc.-is part of the one national "integration" and yet retains its 60. Ibid., pp. 316-17. 61. Ibid., p. 31 8.

62. Ibid., p. 319. 63. Ibid., p. 320. 64. Ibid., pp. 259-60.

74

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

ethnic tonality. When Frank speaks of the New World as a greater integrated Whole (this word, and many others are accorded the capital letter in his rather inflated style) the Indian, the mestizo, and the European iimnigrant are similar units within the totality. Frank's visits to Europe were undertaken first in response to his deep interest in French literature, and then later, in response to his fascination with Spain. Aside from the immediate fruits of his European experience-his book Virgin Spain (1926)-Frank notes that it was through his intimate contact with the Old World that his ideas regarding America were greatly clarified. This process, in­ cidentally, is clearly paralleled in the European experience of a host of Spanish American essayists. Vasconcelos, Rojas, Reyes, Jose Mariategui, and more recently, Octavio Paz, have found in the Old World a valuable vantage point from which to reshape their views of America. In 1921 the Mexican writer, J. J. Tablada while in the United States representing his govermnent, happened to read Our Amer£ca. Struck by Frank's sympathetic attitude toward the Mexicans of Colorado, Tablada translated a portion of the work for publication in the Mexican daily, Excelsior. Shortly afterward, in March of 1922, his translation was reprinted in one of the major literary vehicles of Spanish American unity, the review El Repertorio Americano. Appended to the translation was Tablada's remark, "we deem very important . . . a new attitude on the part of North Americans as regards our universal values. "65 In the mid-twenties, while in Spain gathering material for Virgin Spain, Frank became friendly with a number of important Spanish Americans. Alfonso Reyes, then in Madrid, recalls his early acquaintance with this atypical North American : "It seems to me that our successive meetings, fused in a symphony of friendship, are becoming more and more meaningful for us both, at least in our conception of the American destiny. . . . We are forging plans regarding better mutual understanding among our respective literary colleagues. The dream of two writers has come to be an unquestionable human need. "66 It was at this time that Frank, distressed at the deteriorating relations between the governments of the United States and Latin America, composed a "Message to the Intellectuals of Hispano-America" which he en·

65. Waldo Frank, "M�xico en Norteam�rica : como se juzga nuestra cultura," trans. J. J. Tablada, in Repertoria Americano, III (1922), 406. 66. Obra& completa& de A lfomo Reyes (Mexico, 1956), XI, 139-40. Subsequent citations from Reyes will be from this work and will be noted as Obra&.

1'

JlTnerica llediscovered

75

trusted to Reyes for personal delivery. The burden of this message was siinply that the writers of Anglo America and Hispanic America must become friends. 67 Frank added that faith must be placed in the "Ininority" of both Americas and that the intellectuals were fighting a "common enemy. " The message was published in various places, including the widely circulated Repertor£o Americano, where it appeared as the "Mensaje a los escritores mexicanos. "68 Frank's associations with the Hispanic world increased markedly in the period following. His views on Spanish history and character were aired in a Revista de Occidente article of 1925 ;69 soon afterward Ortega's publishing house put out Espana virgen, a translation of the North American's popular book. The great Peruvian Leftist, Jose Mariategui, wrote of Frank in the mid-twenties, and the two were destined soon to become close friends. In 1927 the influential organ of Peruvian radicalism, Amauta, published translated selections from a series of magazine articles which were to be incorporated in his crucial book, The Re-discovery of America. 70 Thus, in 1928 when Frank was invited to Buenos Aires by the Argentinean publisher and writer, Samuel Glusberg, he was already a familiar figure to many. Just what did Waldo Frank represent in the eyes of the audience which greeted him in his Spanish American tour of 1929? Here was a man, they felt, who was the spokesman of the "other" North America; the North America of the intellectual minority, of Whitman, Emerson, and Poe ; rather than that of the politicians, the generals, and the bankers. Here was a man who might well be a Yankee Rod6 ; a man who could praise, in the dedication of his Re-discot•ery of America, "the view of America as a democratic nation led by an aristocracy of spirit . . . . " The essence of what Frank said to Spanish America (in dozens of speeches, lectures, and personal contacts) may be found in the Re­ discovery and in a work published shortly after his return to the United States, America Hispana : A Portrait and a Prospect (1931) . In the earlier work, Frank begins with an analysis of the crucial matter of the Old World's relationship to the New. The discovery of America, he feels, is misunderstood and misjudged. In the fifteenth century Europe discovered not a new land, but the Ocean 67. See the discussion of Frank's message in M. J. Bernardete (ed.), Waldo Frank in (New York, 1930), pp. 82-90. This volume is a collection of varia, chiefly articles and speeches dedicated to Frank by Spanish Americans . The trans­ lations presumably are by Bernardete. 68. Waldo Frank, quoted in Repertorio Americano, VIII (1924), 305-6 . 69. Waldo Frank, "El espaftol,." Reuisla de Occidente, X (1925), 39. 70. See Amo,uta, No . 14 (April, 1928).

America Hi8pana

76

JN QUEST OF IDENTITY

" . . . the antithesis of the Latin sea" which was "uncharted (and) led to limitless lands."71 The contrast between what he calls the "old Way" (i.e., EuropP and the Mediterranean world) and tl:.e "new" or "Atlantic Way" bears careful examination :

Men's thoughts and dreams had bridged the Mediterranean. For ages, east and west, south and north, the littorals had mingled. Europe came of this. Now, parabola-wise, men's dreams move to the Ocean and Europe begins to die. The con­ quest of World power, by arms and science ; the political crumb­ ling of the Catholic state ; the religious vagrancies that follow Luther-all the modern shifts in value and in power, are traits of Europe's dislocation. And they are traits, as well, of the New Way-the Atlantic . . . Europe bleeds seaward, into soils un­ known. And the old Mediterranean dies. Into the Atlantic flows its death : the new search of man, the new earthwise boundlessness. 7z The "dislocation" of Europe is virtually synonymous with the shattering of Europe's "wholeness," the concept of which is basic

1

America Rediscovered

77

social, aesthetic, or mystic, transcends the individual ego, and though "more Powerful than Power," is its antithesis. 77 Frank considers the worship of the machine and the use of machine methods to be ex­ amples of "power ill-used." As such they are constantly working at cross purposes with love which has as its goal the unity or "integra­ tion" of American society : "America is a herd longing to become a true society-frantically longing-It is . . . a potential Whole, and it must reach its organic health or rot and die. of Unity. . . .

It strives to achieve this goal

Our purpose is good . . . . But since the means we use

is Power-child of chaos-we perpetuate our chaos."78

But Frank's pessimism is balanced by faith in what he calls "the peculiar energy of the American world-the forming life of our land which makes us all, Nordic and Negro, American. . . . "79 This same mystique of the "American world, " together with the continent's peculiar relationship to the Old World,

idea that a new "Whole" must be created in America-and in

relates us more essentially with the Indian or the Peruvian, than with our blood-brothers of Europe. This energy tends towards a passioned restraint ; it is plastic, cruel, darkly exalted. It made the culture of Maya and Pueblo : it is already inscrutably at work within us and without : transfiguring our unconscious spirit, plotting the straight structure of our streets. It is so wondrously atune with our mystique tradition that one is almost ready to believe in an Atlantis . . . . 80

forces mmt be overcome, not the least of which is the self-interested Will and its creation, the Machine, "the most perfect symbol of

foundly united by this "peculiar energy of the New World" and the

in Frank's thinking : ""Wholeness is no mere desired goal ; it is the

origin and the end of all our creative being. Wholeness must be

both personal and social, in order to be either. Individual man cannot achieve his health unless he live, consciously, within a Whole

that holds all life."73 Implied throughout Frank's writings is the broader terms-in the Americas.

To do this, great "dislocative"

personal desire."74 Frank repeatedly underscores the idea that the

will (as expressed in egoism, jingoistic nationalism, etc.) is the destroyer of the desired unity : "We come to have a world where men

were willful atoms-atoms of will-dissolved from what had been a

spiritual Whole."75 "Power," frequently contrasted with "love" in Frank's thinking, is equated with blindly imposed brute force. He

who exercises "power" (as so defined) lacks tnte self-awareness and a "sense of the whole. " Moreover, the personal will is "chaotic"

and often ineffective, for it cannot fuse with a "synthesis greater than itself. "7& The "creative act"-love--be it sexual, intellectual, 71. Frank, Re-discovery, p. 18. 72. Ibid. 73. Ibid., p. 1 !l. 74. Ibid., p. 44. 75. Ibid. 76. Ibid., p. 79.

Although both North America and "America Hispana" are pro­ "longing" for the realization of an harmonious Whole, the� are differences between the two cultures : "In one place (North America) there is order that lacks life, in the other, there is life that lacks order." 81 This lack of order is further aggravated by an anomaly which, though evident throughout the New World, is particularly pronounced in Hispanic America : the Spanish American, Frank feels, "is forced, by his young and deliberate world to live in a time to which he is essentially alien. This . . . leads, again, to pathos-the pathos of the man abiding forever in strangeness. All these affinities 77. Ibid., p. 80. Note the parallelism in Frank's love-power polarity and the opposition of love and will in Caso's thought, as discUSBed in Chapter III, pp. 50-53. 78. Ibid., p. 83. 79. Ibid., p. 229. 80. Ibid., p. 230. 81. Waldo Frank, Amffica Hispana: A Portrait and a Prospect (New York, 1931), p. 340.

78

IN

America Rediscovered

QUEST OF IDENTITY

have, then, a minor key. All have lostness or longing or tragedy within them."B2

Much of what Frank said struck a responsive chord among his

audience.

For one thing the very style of his speeches, articles,

and books had a certain indefinable Latin flavor. English speakers

might well consider his writing wordy, diffuse, and perhaps pompous : yet his verbal display and his penchant for the

recherche

term were

obviously appreciated in Hispanic countries. The fact that he loved

the Spanish language and spoke it rather well also added immeasure­ ably to his popularity.

His warm friendship for Spanish America,

his outspoken criticism of North American power politics, his pas­

sionate nature, and his fervently humanistic approach to philosophic questions, all served to endear him to his audience. His emphasis on

79

Jimenez Rueda seconded earlier expressions of Mexican friendship toward the North-American writer by praising Frank warmly in the in­ fluential journal

Contemporaneos. 85

The leading Cuban essayist,

Jorge Mafiach, gave him a glowing eulogy on the occasion of his

speech before the Instituto Hispano-Cubano de Cultura ;8s and the

Peruvian, Luis Alberto Sanchez, was similarly generous in his praise

when Frank was awarded an honorary doctorate by San Marcos. 87

A list of the Argentine writers who received Frank's message sym­

pathetically would include some of the most illustrious literary figures of the day: Leopoldo Lugones, Alfredo Colmo, Alberto

Gerchunoff, and Ezequiel Martinez Estrada were among the leaders in this chorus of praise. 88 Leon Dujovne and Coriolano Alberini,

both philosophers rather than creative writers, discussed Frank in

certain ideas-albeit already "in the air" in Spanish America­

his relation to contemporary intellectual movements. Alberini ana­

own thoughts.

Argentine audience, 89 while Dujovne contrasted Frank's profound optimism, his lack of jingoism, and his emphasis on cultural unity

helped a number of Spanish American essayists to crystallize their Among the many Frankian themes most frequently

reflected in Spanish America are the following : the belief in a mystical,

lyzed in considerable detail the

Re-discovery of America

for the

all-encompassing Am"erican spirit ; the recognition of a profoundly

with Spengler's pessimistic views regarding the decline of occidental

integrated, but not homogenous, whole (i.e., the "symphonic" image) ;

Buenos Aires was with Victoria Ocampo, who had many conversations

erotic element in man ; the view that ideally society should be an

the feeling that the present-day American inhabits an alien or un­ natural world ; the conviction that modern technological society is in pffect a "machine jungle" ; and finally, the idea that genuine self­ awareness (cf. , Ortega's "authenticity") is necessary before the individual or group can become fused into the desired whole. That Frank was very well received on his 1929 tour of the southern continent is eloquently confirmed by a glance at the many articles, editorials, and reprint!! of speeches which subsequently appeared in Spanish America's leading journals and newspapers. 83 His eulogists

civilization. 90 One of Frank's most fruitful personal associations in

with the North American preparatory to her founding, in 1931, of the great Argentine review Sur. Years later Ocampo fondly recalled discussing with Frank in Buenos Aires and in New York plans for establishing a new "ecumenical" journal, one that would include " . . . toda la America . . . la de Waldo como la de Gabriela Mistral, Alfonso Reyes, German Arciniegas, Jorge Amado, Pedro Henriquez Ure:lia, Juan Marinello."91 Ocampo, who!'e position as an intellectual leader of Spanish America should not be underestimated, has stated of Frank that he was "the first North American with whom I had

were many and distinguished while his detractors were few and

been able to speak of our problems. "112

obscure.

85. Julio Jim�nez Rueda, "La viaits de Waldo Frank," Contempordneoa, IV (1929), 357-58, reprinted in Repertorio Americana, XIX (1929), 202. 86. See Bemardete, Frank in America Hispana, p. 72. 87. Ibid., pp. 1 10-27. 88. Of particular interest is the poem "A Waldo Frank" by Martinez Estrada. Published earlier in the magazine Vida Literaria it is reprinted by Bemardete, Frank in Amerir.a Hiapana, pp. 236-37.

In some instances entire issues of journals were dedicated

to him, as is the case of the Cuban Leftist magazine important Argentine review

Critica considered

Sintesis. 84

Avance

or the

The editors of the journal

Frank to be "among the first Americans who have

exiflted ; that is to say, he is the American of both North and South who will be the future man of this continent." In Mexico, where Frank lectured at the University's summer school, the critic Julio 82. Ibid., p. 337. 83. A handy compendium of these writings may be found in Bemardete, Frank in

America Hispana. 84. See A vance, No. 42 (Jan., 1930) ; and Sintesis, No. 29 (Oct., 1929).

89. Coriolano Alberini, "Waldo Frank en Ia Facultad de Filosofla y Letras," Bintesis, No. 29 (Oct., 1929), pp. 117-25. 90. Leon Dujovne, "Waldo Frank y Spengler," La Vida Literaria, No. 15 (Oct., 1929), p. 7. The same article also appeared in Sintem, No. 29 (Oct., 1929), pp. 159-69. 91. Victoria Ocampo, "Waldo Frank en Buenos Aires," Sur, No. 92 (May, 1942), p. 75. 92. Victoria Ocampo, "Carta a Waldo Frank," Sur, No. 75 (Dec., 1940), p. 13.

80

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Frank and Ortega, despite many differences in personality and in intellectual orientation, drew Spanish America's attention to certain

basic themes which have contributed substantially to the essay of the past three decades. Both visitors exhorted Spanish Americans

to "know themselves," to seek "authenticity," or self-awareness.

Both professed a rather mystical or "poetic" belief in the power of the land to shape the destiny of man and society ; yet both felt that

life was an active project over which man could exercise a fair measure of control. Both were fascinated by the native American : Ortega, with characteristic aristocratic condescension, tended to consider him a promising primitive, while Frank implies that the

and Tamayo.

81

Thus, by the third decade of the present century,

this quest becomes noticeably more complex and more sophisticated. Of great significance too is the fact that the theme of America's

re­

discovery became a truly hemispheric concern. Typical of this later

phase of this preoccupation is the work of Alfonso Reyes, Mexico's

most distinguished essayist. An important link between the

raci6n del Ateneo

Gene­

and present-day writers, Reyes touched upon this

theme frequently during his long career. His essays "Discurso por Virgilio" (1933) and "Posici6n de America" (1942) are particularly good examples of his Americanist views. collaborator in the

Ateneo,

Reyes' close friend and

Pedro Henriquez Urefia, has shown a

Indian, by dint of his receptivity to "the peculiar energy of the

similar interest in broad questions of Americanism. Although a

than to the racially similar European.

and literary historian have brought him to Argentina, to Mexico, and

American World," was more of a blood brother to "white" Americans Both writers shared a deep

fear of the tendency of modern civilization to make of man a thing; a

cog in a vast social machine : Ortega wrote often of the perils of

"deshumanizaci6n,"

while Frank's description of twentieth-century

American society as a «mechanical jungle" was insidiously appealing. 93

Dominican by birth, Henriquez Urena's activities as writer, educator,

to the United States. Such e�says as his La

Utopia de America (1925) Seis ensayos en busca de nuestra expresi6n (1928) attest the sincerity of his novomundi.smo. The somewhat narrower indigenist and

trend, the earlier development of which has already been discussed,

The parallel between these two thinkers may not, however, be carried too far. Frank's influence cannot be compared with that of

has been continued by several writers, particularly by essayists of

seminator of European thought. And Frank's impact as a con­

radicals whose Americanist concern has been inextricably linked with

On the other side of the ledger, however, Frank's personal appeal

the great importance of these writers as radical thinkers, their work

Ortega when we consider the role of the Spanish essayist as a dis­

the Andean region such as Jose Uriel Garcia, Guillermo Francovich, and Fernando Diez de Medina. Of interest also are the Peruvian

tributor to the English language New Republic was likewise less than that of Ortega, the editor of the widely read Revista de Occidente.

questions of basic political philosophy : Jose Carlos Mariategui,

to Spanish Americans was apparently far greater than Ortega's.

will be discussed in a later chapter. The interest in Americanist themes has continued unabated in a number of fine essays of the more

The North American, as a representative of an intellectual and ethnic minority, could be thought of as an underdog-a role whose

Antenor Orrego, and Victor Raul Haya de Ia Torre. Considering

recent past.

This is evident in the work of Colombia's German

The Spaniard, on the other hand, represented the sophisticated

the author of

£Existe America Latina?

colonial upstart. Furthermore, there were certain intellectual circles

de Hispanoamerica (1953).

1930's-which found a kindred spirit in Frank but which could find

upon which our attention will be centered : thus, such essays as

universal appeal seeins particularly strong in Hispanic America.

Arciniegas ; in the prolific writings of Peru's Luis Alberto Sanchez,

(1945) ; and in the provocative

mother country which tended to look upon the New World as a mere

essay of the naturalized Colombian, Victor Frankl,

-principally the very substantial radical Left of the 1920's and

chapters are clearly Americanists, though their work has other facets

little common ground with the more conservative Ortega.

The quest for a new Americanism was certainly enriched by the

Espiritu y camino

A number of writers to be discussed in later

El pecado original de America (1958) by Argentina's H. A. Murena, or America en la conciencia de Europa (1955) by the Mexican Leopoldo

contributions of Frank and Ortega. Along with other foreign writers

Zea could justifiably have been included at this point.

genuous nativism of earlier essayists such as Rojas, Vasconcelos,

recognition that there exists a problem, or group of related probleins,

93. See Dujovne's article (note 90 above) for a Spanish American appreciation o£ this point.

Our analysis of this more recent phase of the rediscovery of America

and visitors they helped Spanish Americans refine the rather in­

The unifying thread which binds these essays together is the

which must be solved if Spanish America is to fulfill its destiny. .

82

IN QUEST OF

IDENTITY

Jlmerica llediscovered

begins rightfully with the work of Waldo Frank's message-bearer to Hispanic America, the late Alfonso Reyes. To attempt to isolate

83

mineral lode is revealed in all its purity, washed clean of its dross. Reyes' view of what he calls "the hour of America" is decidedly

one theme-or even one cluster of related themes-in the work of

ecumenical : he frequently states that the mission of the New World

most penetrating views on broad matters of

Support for such a program may be found, he notes, in Vasconcelos'

Mexico's most prolific essayist is no simple task. Some of Reyes'

novomundismo are found

in rather unlikely places, as in his "Discurso por Virgilio" (1933) . True to the classical tradition, Reyes is quick to point out that man's

social and individual nature show a remarkable constancy across vast realms of time and space.

Thus, he can relate a plan of the Mexican

government to develop local viniculture and cottage industries with similar motifs in Virgil's

Georgics.

It is in this essay on the Virgilian

theme that Reyes expresses his own broad Americanist faith, born of

is to overcome the divisive effects of racism and of cultual jingoism.

vision of an amalgamated "Cosmic Race" and in Waldo Frank's deep humanistic faith. 98 In the "Discurso por Virgilio," Reyes touches upon a theme which has figured prominently in a number of Spanish American essays-the city as opposed to the country. He finds the basic terms of this polarity to be quite simple : in the city the "social act" dominates, the fundamental relationship being that of man with

The great literary wor:ks of the western European tradition-and

man ; while in the country the relationship involves man with the land. 99 Reyes feels that human life, virtually by definition, is "a

to the American scene, he tells us.

between man and external nature. "10° City life, though not actually

a profound love for classic literature and for his native Mexico. especially those of Greece and Rome-are not "foreign" or "exotic"

Properly appreciated, they are

means by which our own indigenous world can be better revealed : "I wish that the Humarrities (be) the natural vehicle of expression for everything autochthonous. " 94 In the context of Mexico's vigorous but often superficial indigenism of the 1920's, Reyes' comments on

continuous reference to the natural ambience, an unending j ourney attacked, is viewed as a kind of artificial creation, a setting up of barriers against the natural order of man's life. Country life, par­

ticularly that of the modest, hardworking landholder, is seen as "The balsam (that) soothes the wounds of politics."101 More concretely,

the relationship between nativism and Old World culture were

it is a means for the absorption of immigrants into the national life.

genuinely autochthonous will manifest itself in the work of a writer,

this Virgilian attitude toward the land dominates; it distinguishes his telluricism from that of many of his Spanish American contemporaries

extremely timely.

First of all he wisely observed that what is

painter, or thinker of its own accord.

Since

lo aut6ctono

is part of

the very make-up of the person one need not be deliberately "nati­ vist" : "this instinctive tendency (nativism) is so evident that to defend it with sophisms is to deprive it of its greatest virtue : its spontaneity." 96 He then warns his countrymen not to deceive themselves, for although "the autochthonous element (is) , in our America an enormous lode of raw material, of artifacts, of forms, of colors and sounds,"96 only the barest fragments of the world of the pre-Columbian is known today.

Therefore Reyes holds that any

return to the primitivism of the Aztec would be unthinkable. By contrast, he stoutly maintains that "until now the only waters which have bathed us are . . . Latin waters."97 Though Reyes does not carry his metaphor any further, it is not unreasonable to view these "Latin waters" as the agent by which the gold of the autochthonous 94. Reyes, Obrtl8, XI, 160. 95. Ibid., p. 161. 96. Ibid. 97. Ibid.

Throughout Reyes' discussion of the city versus country theme,

who view the "force of the land" in terms of the mystical, romantic adoration of nature's primal forces.

In one of Reyes' earlier works,

the beautifully wrought essay "Visi6n de Anahuac" (1917), he,.notes that this more romanticized feeling toward nature may be justified

in much of the New World, (in the jungle, for example) but that his own Mexican plateau is characterized by "sparse and stylized vegetation, an organized landscape, an atmosphere of extreme clarity. . . . " 1112 In short, he finds a distinctly "classic" spirit per­ vading the countryside of his beloved Anahuac. Although it would be misleading to consider Reyes a believer in rigid geographic deter­ minism-the very antithesis of the classically humanist view of nature-we have seen him speak of man's "continuous reference to the natural ambience." Thus, in the "Visi6n de Anahuac" he 98. Ibid., XI, 172. 99. Ibid., p. 175. 100. Ibid.

101. Ibid. 102. Ibid., II, 16.

84

JN QUEST OF IDENTITY

iltnerica llediscovered

suggests that there is a real link, disregarding all questions of blood,

organizing of compendiums of European culture. Above all, we would not have recourse only to the European tradition, but to the entire human heritage . . . . Lastly, in this synthesis we do not envision a compendium or resume just as hydrogen and oxygen on combining in the form of water do no� produce a mere sum of the parts but a new substance, possessmg, as does any true synthesis, new powers and qualities.106

between the Mexican of today and the pre-Columbian Indian. This link exists since both peoples had the same natural environment with which to contend, and since "the everyday emotion produced

by the same natural object" engenders a common spirit.103 AB we have

seen, substantially the same view was professed by Reyes' Argentine contemporary, Ricardo Rojas, and by Waldo Frank when he wrote of "the forming life of our land."

Reyes has developed his idea of what I have called the New

Americanism in an impressive number of essays, historical studies, articles, and speeches. Two of these, "Notas sobre la inteligencia Americana" (1937) and "Posici6n de America" (1942), merit special attention in that they present Reyes' profoundest meditations on the

important theme of the _relationship of the Old World to the New. �n a sense the second essay is a clarification of the first. In 1936 Reyes

participated in a series of conferences, held in Buenos Aires under the auspices of the

Instituto Internacional de Cooperaci6n Intelectual,

dealing with the theme "Present-day relations between European and Latin American cultures."104 George Duhamel initiated the meeting stating the European viewpoint ; Reyes presented the first statement for Latin America. In the "Posici6n de America" he notes that this paper, "Notas Sobre la Inteligencia Americana," was in part misunderstood by some of the distinguished Europeans present. Reyes spoke of an American cultural synthesis which would involve two elements : "a unique balance between our understanding of intellectual activity as public service and as cultural responsibility,"

and a fusion of autochthonous elements with the "intellectual in­ struments" of Europe.105 The product of such a synthesis would be, moreover, greater than the mere sum of its parts. At the Buenos Aires conference Reyes expressed the hope that this distinctive American culture would fulfill the utopian dream of a New World-a dream which formed part of Europe's literature and folklore even before Columbus' voyage. Referring to the Europeans' misunder­ standing of his term "cultural synthesis" at this meeting, he states : Some of those present remained sadly convinced that we were trying to reduce the function of the American mind to the mere 103. lbid., p. 34. 104. Ibid., XI, 82. Some of the distinguished Ew:opeans present. were George Duhamel, Jacques Maritain, Emil Ludwig, Jules Romams, Stefan Zwetg; among .the Spanish Americans, Baldomero Sanfn Cano, Perdo Henriquez Urefia, and Franmsco Romero. 105. Ibid., XI, 86.

85

In these two essays Reyes constantly emphasizes that the ful­ fillment of the American destiny is a responsibility to Europe ("If the European economy has come to have need of us, so ultimately

will the European inteligentsia have need of us"107) or, in broader terms, a responsibility to humanity. Retaining the fervent activism of his early association with the

Ateneo de la Juventud group, Reyes has been more concerned with the ability of the New World to meet

this obligation than with the problem of "choosing" between univer­ salism and nativism. As we have seen, for Reyes there is really no problem of a choice here. Whether he employs the metaphor of the

"autochthonous mineral lode" noted previously, or the interesting analogy of culture and a series of concentric circles-as in the "Posici6n de America" 10s_his message is clear : the Universal and the Particular have a complementary relationship; they "nourish" each other; and

a society based solely on what he terms "alternatives and pecu­ liarities" would be unthinkable, just as would be a purely "Universal"

culture. A final note regarding Reyes' concept of the American

cultural synthesis is in order. Several times in these essays he states that although he is restricting himself to Latin America, there are broad grounds for cultural fusion with Anglo-Saxon America : "We

do not feel that one may speak seriously of unsurpassable barriers to cultural synthesis. . . . "10 9 At the conclusion of the "Posici6n de

America" he looks upon the American synthesis in broad philosophi­

cal terms. Drawing from the rich thought of one of the Spanish American intellectuals' favorite sources, Max Scheler,11 0 Reyes notes that one of the great problems to be resolved before this synthesis may be achieved is that of reconciling three basic types of knowledge : the Hindu knowledge of salvation through psychic and bodily self106. Ibid., p. 265. 107. Ibid. 108. Ibid., XI, 257. 109. Ibid., p. 269. ..._ . . A�encans tuan 110. Max Scheler (1874-1928) is perhaps better known .t? Spamsh he is to North Americans. A German philo�phe_r, acadermman, and at tl,mes, � free­ lance. writer' he was introduced to the HISpamc world through Ortega s RetnBta de Occidente in the tnid-1920's. The English titles of some of his best-known works are The Nature of Sympathy, Man's Place in Nature, On the Eternal in Man, as well as

86

ilr.nerica llediscovered

lN QUEST OF IDENTITY

control ; the wisdom

(saber culto)

of ancient Greece and China ; and

finally the scientific, practically motivated, knowledge of the western European tradition. Citing Scheler directly he notes, "the time has come to open the way towards an assimilation, and at the same time, towards an integration of these three partial tendencies of the human spirit."m The "integration" called for by Scheler is precisely

what Reyes would wish America to achieve. The continent, if it is to accomplish its mission, must not develop one of these types of knowledge at the expense of the others :

nuestra expresi6n,

Seis ensayos en busca de

investigated the specific question of whether

original cultural contributions are even possible in Hispanic America. The fact that a common history has been shared with Europe does not preordain the failure of the New World's attempts at original expression.

He feels that the Old World's tradition determines to

a great extent the "forms" of American culture, but that "the unique character of a people comes from its spiritual depths, from its native energy."113 The method by which original and authentic expression may be attained is one of deep probing involving considerable effort : " . . . there is but one secret here : work at it deeply, make every effort

to obtain pure expression by descending to the very roots of the

things we wish to say, to refine, to clarify. . . . "114 As in the case of many contemporary Spanish American essayists, Henriquez Urena maintains that the writer or artist of the New World should, if he truly desires to attain authentic cultural achievements, embark upon a profound search of his own "spiritual depths." He does not carry this view further, as others will do.

suggest that this kind of intensive analysis of the self yields not only authenticity and genuineness, but that it is, in effect, the only possible method for grasping reality. In his later writings Henriquez Urena has distinguished himself as a literary and cultural historian of great breadth.

His work as a

teacher of Hispanic literature in some of the hemisphere's greatest universities-including our own Harvard--encouraged him to write two invaluable works,

Literary Currents in Spanish America (1945) Historia de la cultura en la America

and the posthumously published

Pure knowledge of salvation will convert us into prostrate peoples, into thin, mendicant friars ; pure knowledge of culture, into sophists and mandarins ; pure knowledge of technique, into scientific barbarians which, as we have seen, is the worst kind of barbarism. Only a balance of all these will insure our loyalty to heaven and earth. 'Such is the mission of America.112 Pedro Henriquez Urena has, in his

87

He does not, for example,

severn! more technical volumes in ethics and axiology. For a good resume of his philosophic position, see the "Translator's Introduction" to Man's Place in Nature, trans. Hans Meyerhoff (New York, 1961), pp. ix-xxxv. Meyerhoff views Scheler as a follower of Husserl's phenomenology who has also incorporated, but never fused, divergent "philosophies of life" (Nietzsche, Bergson, and Dilthey) into his general world view. 1 1 1 . Reyes, Obras, XI, 270. 112. Ibid. 1 13. Pedro Henriquez Urefia, Obra critica (Mexico, 1960), p. 251. 1 14. Ibid.

Hispdnica (1947).

Although it is probably true that Henriquez Urena's

major contributions as an original thinker date from his very early association with the Mexican writers of the

Ateneo,

rather than

from this later period of activity, his role as a highly skilled synthe­ sizer and as a devoted Americanist cannot be overstated. The delicate interrelationship of indigenism and universalism in the work of an Alfonso Reyes or the breadth of viewpoint of a

Pedro Henriquez Urefia are not always evident in contemporary

Americanist essays.

There are good reasons why this "narrowing

of the focus" should occur but to consider these now would an­ ticipate the problems to be attacked in our final chapters.

Writers

of the Andean region-where interest in the Indian and the land on which he lives tends to dominate a good deal of the literary pro­ duction-often display this somewhat more restricted view of Americanism. Nevertheless their work, in essays such as Jose

Uriel Garcia's

El nuevo indio (1930) , Guillermo Francovich's Pacha­ (1942) , and F. Diez de Medina's Thunupa (1947) and Sariri (1954), illustrates important facets of the novomundista concern.

mama

In their efforts to define the Indian and his place in Hispanic Ameri­ can culture, these writers attempt to clarify fundamental problems which though touched upon by Rojas, Vasconcelos, and Tamayo are as yet not completely resolved. Telluricism-in the sense of a powerful, mystic force which the land exerts upon its inhabitants-is the dominant theme in the work of Jose Uriel Garcia

indigenistas,

(1884

).

--

Typical

of

many contemporary

he feels that this force, rather than the biological

determinants, molds man. The Indian is thus defined as "everyone whose inner being responds upon contact with the incentives that American nature offers and who feels that his spirit is rooted in the land."115 And anyone, regardless of physical type, who comes to 115. Jose Uriel Garcfa, El nuevo indio. Emayos indianistas sobre la sierra peruana (2• edici6n corregida; Cuzco, 1937), p. 6.

m­

88

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

il�erica llediscovered

the sierra, "open-hearted" and willing to saturate himself in the

are mentioned in support of the idea that through the catalytic

environment, may justifiably be called an "lndian."116 Uriel Garcia is intrigued by the indigenous folklore of his native Peru, and especial­ ly by the ancient Indian notion of apu, a kind of local spirit which may be embodied in a physical feature (a mountain or river) or in

89

action of European culture, a great new civilization will evolve in

the New World. Max Scheler's concept of the fusion of Orient and Occident is introduced, as are similar ideas of Duhamel and Key­ serling.

Waldo Frank's thought figures prominently in the essay, as

an animal totem. The apu is a unifying element in Indian life :

when one of the young men, in describing the desired new culture

Garcia feels that a serious study of the apu's symbolic role would

North American writer: "a kind of magnificent spiritual orchestration

although he calls for no reversion to indigenous superstition, Uriel

yield valuable insights into the political and social needs of the region.117 Uriel Garcia-not unlike Reyes in his criticism of the

superficial, sentimentalized Indianism of the period-distinguishes carefully between the incaismo or antiquarian's interest in an ancient

civilization, and indianis�o which he defines as a "problem to be resolved."11 8 Thus, though he may be fascinated by the communism

of the Indian landholdiil.g system-the ayllu-he does not call for ·a

return to this institution, despite the fact that he considers it "fresh and vigorous like everything primitive."119 Like so many of the writers whom we shal� discuss, Uriel Garda sees in the awakening of the Indian an effervescence, a brimming over of powerful primitive

forces--"barbarism in ebullition, culture in germination," as he calls it.

Paralleling Tamayo's Nietzschean attitudes and Ortega's love of

the virile barbarian, he holds that the "redemption" of the Indian must be achieved while this wonderful vitality is retained. Although the Indian must be educated, economically elevated, and incorpo­ rated into the modem world, the indigenous spirit, the force of the

sierra ("that wonderful retort of the New America's spiritual chemis­

uses an "orchestral" figure very similar to that employed by the

would come about, one in which each group of people would strike

its own distinctive notes-notes which though different, would be

complementary of each other. "122

One of the most interesting clashes in the dialogue occurs when

telluricism, or what one of the discussants calls geojilosof£a is debated.

The theme is introduced when it is recalled that Frank once said that the Andean natives were "children of the rocks,"123 and that

Keyserling on occasion commented that the American native was a "mineraloid" being. 124 Another member of the group suggests that

there is, in effect, a deep cosmic subconscious in all men which is

"formed by the forces of the natural environment."125 It is further

explained that the Indians, dimly aware of its existence, attributed

this cosmic subconscious to man's common descent from the goddess Pachamama, whose very name is equivalent to "earth-mother. " The idea is then developed that by probing this cosmic subconscious an inkling of a metaphysical realm of "a vast and higher reality" may be obtained.126 Though it is not explicit, a decidedly Jungian note is struck in this discussion. The error of older philosophies, the

try"120) should be conserved as a tremendous "reservoir" of energy.

essay continues, lies in attempting to discover this ultimate reality

us," has the "moral obligation to open new channels for the outflow

reason which gives us the basis of its existence, but rather it is our

The intellectual, the educated indigenist, what Uriel calls the "nucle­ of this vast reservoir. . . . "121 Guillermo Francovich

digenistas,

(1901

),

--

one of Bolivia's leading

in­

has, in his dialogued essay Pacha��a, analyzed a

number of problems relating to the general theme of nativism and universalism. The essay is constructed as a conversation between a group of young Bolivians discussing the problem of the possible cultural autonomy of Spanish America. Several European writers 116. Ibid., p. 8. 117. Ibid. , pp. lOfi. 118. Ibid., p. 81. 119. Ibid., p. 24. 120. Ibid., p. 95. 121. Ibid., p. 192.

by use of reason : "it is not by means of our intelligence, it is not our body. . . . " The "ultimate reality" itself is mystically equated with "the land, the natural support of our life. "127 Interestingly enough this irrational viewpoint is roundly attacked by "Carlos," the speaker who is presented as having the soundest opinions of the group, and who perhaps represents the author's own position. Carlos relegates this geojilosof£a to the category of untenable ideas 122. Guillermo Francovich, Pachamama: didlogo sobre el porvenir de la cuUura en Bolivia (Asunci6n, n.d. [1942)), p. 16. Cf. Frank, Re-discovery, pp. 259-60. 123. Francovich, Pachamama, p. 31. 124. lbid., p. 46. 125. Ibid., p. 54. 126. Ibid., pp. 64-65. 127. Ibid., p. 70.

90

91

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

America Rediscovered

which, like racism and Marxism, ignore the fundamentally autono­

many pages of the book are devoted, unfortunately to a personal

mous nature of the human spirit.128 Attacking both irrationalism and the "antihumanist" determinism of Marx and Spengler, Carlos

calls for Spanish America to adopt a position which would be based

on "the idea of personality as the expression of the spirit and granting

squabble with his compatriot, Franz Tamayo. criticisms in

Thunupa

Though many of the

are valid, the collection of essays makes few,

if any, affirmative points.

however, is in turn attacked when another discussant points out

By contrast, in "Sariri," the essay which serves as a title piece to his 1954 collection, Dlez de Medina speaks in more substantive terms. Subtitled "An answer to Rod6's Ariel," the essay calls for

Bolivia's-and by extension, for Spanish America's-cultural sub­

the Indian traveler and teller of legends, who by his very nature

reason domain over instinct and the irrational."129 This position,

that the supposedly "universalist" attitude has been responsible for ordination to Europe. Carlos defends and qualifies his argument by pointing out that, on the one hand, "all cultural process is the

adoption by one group of the values discovered by others," and, on

the other, that a profoundly nationalistic search for one's own "distinctive nature" will lead to a true universalism.130 This search

Pr6spero to be replaced by a new Spanish American mentor-Sariri,

"cannot remain silent and indifferent."132 What obviously dis­ pleases Dfez de Medina most about Rod6's attitudes is the "egoism

of the man of erudition," the "excess of verbal jewelry," and the

"lack of collective sensibility."133 In short, Rod6 strikes him as being

effete, overly concerned with matters of style, aristocratic, and

must be concentrated upon internal elements in the culture rather than upon superficialities of local color, picturesque nativism, etc.

lacking in militancy. Whether Dlez de Medina's estimate of Rod6

but rather as an instrument for the deeper understanding of "human universality."131 This process is only suggested in Francovich's

clusivistic humanism of 1900 is yielding to the social, warm, and

In short originality must not be pursued as an ultimate objective,

essay ; however, as we shall see in a later chapter, it has come to occupy a central position in the very recent work of some of the con­

tinent's most distinguished writers.

A frequent contributor to Spanish America's leading journals, an

active nember of the Bolivian revolutionary movement which

triumphed in 1952

(Movimiento Nacional Revolttcionario),

and an

ardent student of Indian lore, Fernando Dlez de Medina (1908--)

has been a vociferous, and often controversial, spokesman of Andean

indigenismo. Many of his articles, as well as his books Thunupa (1947) , Sariri (1954), and Fantasia coral (1958), are characterized

by a curious melange of generous Americanism and personal prej­

udice. In the first of these works, his attitude is rather negative:

Aside from presenting a picture of the Kolla deity Thunupa (a symbol of noble primitivism, a doer of good deeds, and a defender of the just), he devotes himself principally to invective. of his attack include the United States, whose

The targets

intellectual and

political paranoia is sharply criticized, and Alcides Arguedas, whose racistic theories of the 128. Ibid.

129. Ibid., p. 86. 130. Ibid., p. 81.

131. Ibid., p. 86.

pueblo enfermo

are roundly refuted. A good

is justified or not is less important than his contrast of the "humanism"

of 1953 with that of 1900 : "the cultured, cold, haughty, and ex­ frank humanism of 1953-an openly militant humanism, in search

of a philosophy of reintegration, a philosophy that would be idealistic

and at the same time capable of organizing the material realm. . . . "134

This newer concept of the term "humanism" will, as we shall see, come to play an increasingly important role in shaping contemporary

Spanish American attitudes, especially among the essayists of the

Left. Paralleling Rod6's masterpiece, Dlez de Medina begins his essay

by having Sariri introduce two opposing deities : Makuri, a decidedly

Calibanesque figure, and Thunupa, the great activist, defender of

the weak, and ameliorator of suffering. The fact that Thunupa

represents the practical virtues rather than the vague idealism of Ariel is stressed repeatedly. The burden of the essay is presented

in the simple tale of a struggle between the two gods. The malef­ icent Makuri slays Thunupa, whose spirit, however, continues to

live on in the forces of the land : "He speaks with the voice of thunder,

he flashes his warning with lightning, he chastises with thunder­

bolts."I35 Thunupa represents duty : the duty of Spanish America to work out her own destiny in a practical, honest manner without 132. Fernando Dfez de Medina, Sariri: Una replica al Ariel de

1954), p. 9.

133. Ibid., p. 14. 134. Ibid., p. 12. 135. Ibid., p. 23.

Rod6 (La Paz,

92

93

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

attempting to take flight in vague, ethereal idealism.

Diez de

calls, by "a lanky awkward youth who had a melancholy voice and

Medina suggests-at least in this essay-that Hispanic America

whose name was Pablo Neruda."140 But what struck the young

policies of the United States.

North America, he notes parenthetical­

Spanish American solidarity and of commitment to the quest for a

literature.136 Dlez de Medina prides himself on his practicality ; his

and younger teachers at the University : "we hopefully thought, in

should not blame all her troubles on external forces, such as the

ly, is not all bad; she has a great "moral tradition" and a notable

Venezuelan emigre most in his new environment was the spirit of

continental ideal. He noted this particularly among the students

essays have a dow"D.-to-earth approach which is at the same time

those years of the twenties, that the impetus of university reform

definite plan for a Bolivian national economy based upon small

make us wiser and better, but that it would also change the harsh

by the issue of nativism versus universalism is certainly less impres­

days, did we have the desire to be more generous. We thought that

their strength and weakness. He can, for example, sketch out a independent land holdings, 137 but his analysis of the problems posed

sive than that of the other

indigenistas

we have examined. And

which had spread throughout the continent . . . not only would

realities of tyrants and foreign intervention . . . . Never, as in those

a new generation of patriots would have to come forth, to re-establish

nationalism, as when in the rather disconnected later essays of

the unity of our shattered continental destiny."141 Whether university reform should be considered a cause or an effect of the reawakened

Kolla Indians, at the same time implying that the accomplishments

question that the leaders of the two movements were often identical :

more often than not, his indigenism is little more than thinly veiled

Sariri, he emphasizes the antiquity and achievements of the Bolivia� of Pent's Incas have been overrated.

The intellectual de'9'elopment of Venezuela's leading essayist of

the twentieth century, Mariano Pic6n Salas (1901-65), rather closely parallels that of Henriquez Urena, Reyes, and the

His earliest works, such as the essays in

A teneo group. Buscando el camino (1920),

show a typical anti-Spencerian, vitalistic viewpoint. Like many" a

Spanish American of the day, he looks upon nineteenth-century life as dull and self-satisfied; he considers the philosophy of the century,

dominated as it was by fatalistic scientism, equally unattractive.138

These very early essays are characterized by a typical melange of

arielist.a

sentiment, fascination with Nietzschean

paganism, and

rejection of the French decadent poets. His thought is further enriched by a deep concern for a Spanish American rejuvenation

through a "responsible philosophy capable of arousing dormant spirits. "13 9

In the 1920's Pic6n Salas, seeking a less repressive intellectual

climate than that afforded by dictator-dominated Venezuela, jour­ neyed to distant Chile where he remained for many years as a teacher, student, and journalist. In Santiago he frequented the lively tertulia of the novelist Eduardo Barrios ; here, incidentally, he had the op­

portunity of hearing a strange new poetry, solemnly declaimed, he re136. Ibid., pp. 33-34. 137. Ibid., p. 44. 138. Mariano Pic6n Salas, Buscamlo el camino (Caracas, 1920), pp. 143-44. 13!?. Ibid., p. 144.

Americanism of the period is difficult to determine, but there is no Vasconcelos in Mexico, Mariategui and Haya de la Torre in Peru, as well as Pic6n Salas in his second homeland, Chile.

It is not surprising then, that one of Pic6n Salas' early expressions

of Americanism was presented as a lecture to an academic group at

the University of Concepci6n in

1931. The speech,

published

subsequently as Hispano-Amtrica, posicifJn critica, though necessarily brief, is rich in ideas. Pic6n Salas' point of departure may be taken as a veritable

leitmotif for the

times : "There exists in our times, and

with great justification in our new countries . . . an ardent desire for definition."142 He warns, however, that "definitions" based on

ready-made, borrowed patterns are dangerous, particularly as they often reflect the narrowness of a single viewpoint. Beware of the

"man who reads only one book," he tells his audience. It is because

of this type of thinker that Spanish America has servilely copied

foreign forms, and it is to "the man who reads only one book" that

the continent owes her incapacity to come face to face with reality.143

An even broader criticism of the failings of the continent's intel­

lectuals and artists is made when Pic6n Salas points out that the Spanish American pursues a �
arielistas

like Rod6

and Francisco Garda Calder6n as writers whose cultivation of verbal 140. Mariano Pic6n Salas, Regruo de tru mundos (M6xico, 1959), p. 78. 141. Ibid. 142. Mariano Pic6n Salas, Hispano-Ambica, posici6n crftica (Santiago de Chile, 1931), p. 5. 143. Ibid., p. 6.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

America Rediscovered

ornament and affected coRmopolitanism barely disguises an innocuous,

what Picon Salas writes in this work is an amplification of earlier

mediocre personality. In his comments on the Andean radical

ideas on the same theme : "The finest spirits of both Americas . . .

writers, especially Gonzalez Prada, he stresses the point that the

discovered the American essence by introducing as a first assumption

94

9.5

truly great intellectual not only must be deeply rooted in his milieu,

European methods and technique."147 He does, however, suggest an

but must also be an activist, if not a revolutionary.144 Art and

interesting way of re-stating the basic problem : perhaps Europe may

literature of the purely "ornamental" sort are not in keeping with

be equated with a formalizing concept of "Culture," while America

the "American attitude." He singles out the paintings of Diego

may be thought of as "Nature"-youthful, unformed, but vibrantly alive. The integration of "Culture" and "Nature," as he defines

Rivera, the writings of Prada, and the work of the then emerging Mexican thinker, Samuel Ramos, as pointing the way toward a genuine New World culture.

Such a culture, he notes should be

thought of as a particular "modality" within a "general" western European tradition. Attacking from a slightly different quarter, he calls for the use of European technique and method for the ex­ ploration of the New World's "own peculiar destiny."145 In an article written some years later, "Americanismo y aut6ctonismo" (1937)� be again deplores mechanical imitation of foreign art and literature, while he stresses the need for the "conscious adaptation" of Western culture to American rc�tlity. Although he may praise the efforts of a Gonza.lez Prada or a Diego Rivera, Pic6n Salas would not have the desire for an independent, uniquely American culture lead to diculous extremes.

ri­

Like Alfonso Reyes, he is quite aware that the

great emphasis placed on nativism throughout Spanish America during the present century could easily produce a sentimentalized, romantic, and utterly false art. He even suggests that the exuberant

indigenista of the day would do well to study the rather conservative view of the Indian which Sim6n Bolivar had expressed over a century before.146 In later years Pic6n Salas continued to probe the American reality in formal as well as in informal essays. His well-documented and well-written historical study

De la conquista a la Independencia

(dedicated, incidentally, to Alfonso Reyes, with whom he admits sharing "a common hope in America") has become a classic in the field of colonial cultural history. The essays collected in

America : Preguntas a la e.�jinge de la cultura. (1947),

Europa­

while dealing

specifically with the author's impressions of various aspects . of European culture, arc united by an underlying preoccupation with the problem of America's relationship to the Old World.

Much of

144. Ibid., p. 24. 145. Ibid., pp. 18-1!}. 146. Mariano Pic6n Salas, "Americanismo y autoctonismo," Arenea No. 144 (June, 1937), pp. 254-60.

these terms, would be Picon Salas' ideal American synthesis.

When

"Culture" loses contact with the natural realm, "it becomes cold intellectualism,

calculating,

abstract,

and

inhuman. " Likewise,

"Nature" without "Culture" is equally barren : "Nature without Culture is the hazy and haphazard realm of instinct-a re11;ion of terri­ fying surprises, of lustful cruelty, of sheer panic occasioned by ignorance."148 Just as there is no opposition between "Culture" and "Nature" there is no real opposition between America and the Old World. As with Reyes, at the root of Picon Salas' thinking lies a classical concept of man and nature ; nature must be controlled, ordered, and made rational by human effort ; by so doing man may take his vital sustenance from her.

In a more recent work, the

warmly semi-autobiographical collection of essays

mundos (1959),

Regreso

de

tres

Picon Salas again underscores his fundamental belief

that it is only through the utilization of the experience and wisdom of the Old World that America will discover herself. It is significant that he considers one of the New World's great neoclassicists, Andres Bello, a writer who succeeded in grasping this truth at the very dawn of American independence : "Perhaps the secret-as an educator of the stature of Andres Bello has already guessed-lies in utilizing the methods, forms and experiences received from older cultures, to define that which is intrinsically ours."149 It is not surprising that the lands bordering the Caribbean, a region whose colorful past and ethnic complexity are unrivaled in the hemisphere, should produce essayists whose work is dominated by a passion for history. Picon Salas' interest in Colonial Spanish America is a case in point ; the writings of his Colombian contem­ porary, German Arciniegas (1901--) perhaps bear even more eloquent testimony of the fascination which the past may exercise. Arciniegas' love of history is complemented by two other loves : that 147. Mariano Fic6n Sala.�, Europa-America: Pregunta8 a Ia esjinge de Ia cultura (Mexico, 1947), p. 10. 148. Ibid., p. 27. 149. Pic6n Salas, Regreso de tres mundos, p. 140.

96

of America, in the widest sense, and that of the little man, the Don

Nadie. These themes have lent his work a vibrancy and warmth which are often lacking in the typical historical essay.

Whether he

is writing a highly personal, tongue-in-cheek piece such as "La academia, la taberna y la universidad,"150 the memoirs of early student days,

97

America Rediscovered

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

El estudiante de la mesa redonda (1936), a serious Este pueblo de America penetrating biographical sketches of America mdgica

(though never pedantic) investigation such as

mental difference between the Spaniard who remained Peninsula seasoning his

on the

with olives and shellfish, and the Spaniard who came here to eat potatoes, yuccas and Indian corn." 1 54

paella

But what defines the American, and the American spirit even more

than these physical determinants, is his thirst for liberty, justice, and democracy. Arciniegas is not afraid to state what he believes to be obvious truths, though they may appear to be commonplace and

(1945), or the (1959), these three elements-Americanism, the passion for history, and Don Nadie-are seldom absent. In Arciniegas' America even

are things "neither the kings of Spain . . . nor even Ortega y Gasset

the greatest political and literary figures, a Juan Montalvo or a

understanding of cultural realtionships between the Old World and

Sim6n Bolivar, assume very believable, human proportions.

This

could see."155 The search for an adequate definition of Americanism, for a clearer the New, takes many forms in contemporary Spanish America.

is accomplished by a literary method which tends toward the anecdotal

With few exceptions the essayists whom we have been discussing all

found among successful �en of letters. A trivial personal confession

for worse, the connotation of "liberal" in the Hispanic context has a

certain occasion his colleague at Columbia University, Federico de

enter into the definition, but traditionally the term suggests if not an

and by Arciniegas' complete freedom from the pretentiousness often perhaps best reveals the forthright humanity of the man : on a Onls, asked Arciniegas· to deliver a talk on a rather difficult topic. To complicate matters, the situation was such that Arciniegas would have very little time to prepare his address. He nonetheless observes :

belong to what may be termed the liberal persuasion. For better or strongly religious flavor : economics and political philosophy of course anticlerical attitude, at least a marked disinclination to view man­ kind, society, and history in terms of Catholic thought. In recent years, however, a number of very provocative essays

"How could I refuse? I'm incapable of refusing any request. H I

have appeared by writers who are sympathetic to the established

had been a woman, I would have stained the family honor, because

church. Important literary journals have attempted, and with con­

I always say yes to everything. "151 Arciniegas' Americanist attitudes may be summarized readily.

siderable success, to dispel the feeling among the intelligentsia that

"The American essence," he tells us, can be equated with mankind's

few cases-that of Jose Vasconcelos is perhaps the most striking-an

yearnings for "emancipation and . . . a free life."152 Though he can­ not be accused of indulging in the artificial glorification of the con­ tinent's autochthonous past, Arciniegas does feel that the inhabitant of the New World is substantially different from the European. This difference is not attributable to race ; along with many other essayists who have pursued this theme, Arciniegas stresses the role of environmental forces in producing a distinctly American personality: "Regardless of how much we think we are Spaniards or Frenchmen, we are Americans.

This continent has marked us with a manner,

an accent, a luster, a color. . . . "153 Or expressing the same idea in more typically Arciniegan terms, "it is clear that there is a funda150. German Arciniegas, "La academia, Ia tabema, y Ia universida:i," Revista de la8 Indias, No. 58 (Oct., 1943), pp. 5-15. 151. Cited by Joaquin Maurin, "Arciniegas o Ia conciencia de America," Cuadernos, No. 1 (July/Aug., 1953), p. 102. 152. German Arciniegas, Este pueblo de Am�rica (Mexico, 1945), p. 75. 153. Ibid., p. 61.

the Catholic viewpoint was unsophisticated and anachronistic.

In a

essayist has "returned" to the Catholic position late in his career. Others have made their mark as writers and thinkers from within a consistently Catholic frame of reference. These essayists have felt that the facile equation of certain positions-indigenism, humanism, idealism, and economic equalitarianism-with the liberal viewpoint

has done the church a great injustice. The defenders of what might be called the "Catholic Americanist" movement hold, for example, that racial prejudices and the inequalities arising therefrom are products of the northern European, Protestant tradition. Many would agree with the conservative Mexican writer Alfonso Junco, who succinctly titled an article "El hispanismo autentico es el mejor indigenismo" ("True Hispanism is the Best Indigenism") .156 His154. Ibid., pp. 54-55. 155. Ibid., p. 174. 156. Alfonso Junco, "El hispanismo autentico Peruano, No. 196 (July, 1943), pp. 279-82.

es

el mejor indigenismo " Mercurio

98

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

torical support for this view is often gained by citing the work of the celebrated "defender of the Indies," Father Bartolome de las Casas, or by pointing out the benevolent paternalism of the Jesuit missions in Paraguay. In addition to re-interpreting the church's role in New World history, this group has been very receptive to certain recent trends in European thought, notably that of Catholic humanists such as Jacques Maritain, and that of religious Existentialists like Nicholas Berdyaev and Gabriel Marcel. Spanish America's Catholic intel­ lectuals can be conveniently grouped in relation to the journals which have provided them a means of expression. In Mexico the Abside writers include the director, Alfredo Junco, the philosophers Oswaldo Robles and Jose Sanchez Villasenor, as well as important foreign contributors such as the Chilean, Clarence Finlavson. In Peru, the influential Mercurio Peruano, while publishin� material of con:. siderable ideological breadth, has served as a sounding board for several Catholic essayists, such as the journal's editor, Victor Andres Belaunde and the philt>sophical essayist Alberto Wagner de Reyna. Of the Argentine Catholic reviews, Criterio is well known, though its adherence to fascism and its intellectual narrowness have restricted its appeal substantially. In Colombia, Bolfvar, a journal which flourished during the Rightest regime of the early 1950's, best represents Catholic thought in that region ; its writers included Finlayson, Wagner de Reyna, and the very interesting historical essayist Victor Frankl (1905-) . Although the Austrian-born Frankl could hardly be considered a major Spanish American literary figure, his essays, collected in the volume Espiritu y camino de His­ panoamerica (1953) , present some provocative interpretations of a number of the problems we have been examining. Frankl takes as his point of departure a fundamentally cyclical­ historicist view of culture ; in his own terms he refers to this as "the organic interpretation . . . of cultures."157 Acknowledging his obvious debt to such well-known historicists as Spengler and Toynbee, he holds that civilizations have a youth, a middle age, a decline, and a death. Spanish America, he maintains, has followed or has unsuccessfully tried to follow an "alien" cycle, i.e., that of Europe. The Old World now findR itself in "a senile epoch" imbued with a " . . . profane, empirical, relativistic tendency characterized by an individualistic Rocial Rtructure ; or, in short, by . . . 'modernity.' "158 In reality, how157. Vfetor E. Frankl, Espiritu y camino de Hispanoammca (Bogota, 1953), p. 11. 158. Ibid.

America Rediscovered

99

ever, Spanish America's own "organic age" is youthful, and the unfortunate attempt to make her culture conform to Europe's decadent "modernity" has resulted in an acute crisis, characterized by a sense of "inauthenticity. '' Frankl feels that the ·spanish American is, or should think of himself as, living in a kind of "New Medieval" period, an era in which a sense of solidarity and com­ munity has not yet been "mutilated" by the modern world's un­ bridled individualism and pernicious intellectualism. 169 The Euro­ pean source of these ideas is of course Berdyaev, whose very radical though profoundly religious views have had considerable appeal in contemporary Spanish America, even among writers who are not primarily defenders of the church.160 Certain historical periods and specmc ideological movements are singled out by Frankl as exempli­ fying the neomedieval spirit : the age of St. Augustine, the Middle Ages themselves, the first few decades of German romanticism, and in Spanish America, the period of spiritual ferment following the Mexican Revolution. In Frankl's rather tortuous logic, Herder, Fichte, and Hegel are viewed as renovators of the medieval spirit of community and iolidarity in that they opposed the modern notions of "liberalism, positivism, and individualism. " Parenthetically one may well question whether Frankl is confusing the Hegelian concept of the "State" with the early Christian concept of "community." Frankl feels that Vasconcelos and Caso exemplify the kind of "ro­ mantic organicism" which the Spanish American continent needs; he cites their revolt against scientism in the name of idealism and spirituality as one of the great recent movements toward authentic Americanism. 181 In addition to the Mexicans, at least two . other Spanish American thinkers are lauded for having utilized this "organic" viewpoint of culture. Curiously, these two are the fana159. Ibid., pp. 45-46. . . . 160. Nicholas Alexandrovich Berdyaev (1874-1948) was born m Russta and enJoyed

a chair in Philosophy at the University of Moscow shortly after the Revolution. He WBB subsequently expelled by the goyemment (192?) and spent most ?f his remaining . . years in France. He was deeply rndica.l, deeply religtous, and very �ttca.l of m�em society, both capitalistic and communistic . Spanish American wt:te�s come mto . contact with his work through France, where m the last few years of hts hfe he beca'D:e associated with the Existentialists. Some of his better known works are The Bourgeou Mind, The Origin of Ru.,sian Communism, The Ru.ssi_an �euolution, The _End of Our Time' The Meaning of the Creative Act, etc. Perhaps the tdea. m Berdyaev which appealed most to Spanish American intellectuals is his view of genuine Christianity as the perfect expression of the propertyless, '_'communistic" society. See Leop1>ldo �ea, 4mtrica en la conciencia de Europa (MeXIco, 1955), pp. 173-76, for further discuss10n of the "humanitarian" and "communal" nature of primitive Christianity. In Zea's work, as in Waldo Frank's, there is remarkable parallel of Berdyaev's critique of modem Christianity, particularly in its Protestant, "materialistic" expression. 161. Frsnkl, Espiritu y camino p. 449.

101

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

America Rediscovered

tical dictator of nineteenth-century Paraguay, Dr. Francia, and the

zant that their task of rediscovering the New World is as crucially im­

100

more recent Paraguayan essayist and statesman, Juan Natalicio Gonzalez.162 Frankl,

in

his

very

complimentary

discussion

of

Gonzalez' works, points out another important aspect of his own

portant to the future of humanity as it is to that of Spanish America

herself. As the editors of the journal cinctly stated in the

avant-propos

Cuadernos Americanos

suc­

of their fine review, "America es

Americanist position : namely, the great role he assigns to the land.

el porvenir del mundo. TU estas llamada a salvar el mundo. "

position on "civilization and barbarity. " He believes that "the

save the world.").

Frankl agrees with Gonzalez' inversion of Sarmiento's well-known servants of autochthonous culture" are the true civilizers and that

("America i s the future of the world. You have been summoned to The process of defining what Reyes at times has called "The

the "Europeanizers" are the "barbarians. "163 The genuine Ameri­

Position of America" and at other times "The Meaning of America"

in constant contact with the land, though this "telluric fatalism"

in the opening paragraphs of this chapter remain unanswered or are

Rather, Frankl feels, it is to be thought of as "man's mystical

our essayists have attempted to maintain has had serious limitations.

canist must always conceive of the New World's culture as something

continues to the present, and yet many of the questions suggested

should not be confused with the determinism of a Taine or a Spencer.

only partially answered. Evidently the broad focus which many of

sur­

render to the creative energy of the land."164 Frankl's Americanist

We have already witnessed the tendency toward a narrowing of this

views are thus compounded of several diverse elements : a passionate.

focus; toward the application of a specific viewpoint, such as that of

and especially to the romanticized geography of Karl Ritter) ; the

trend toward restricting this search for definition to a clearly national

have destroyed that sense of community embodied in the church and

-be it

lastly, the acceptance of a kind of cyclical historicism best expressed

will be directed toward those writers who have attempted to define

telluricism (the roots of which he traces to the German Romanticists

the "Catholic Americanist" writers. There has also been a strong

notion that liberalism, intellectualism, and especiaUy individualism,

frame of reference. In later chapters this quest for national essence

which must be considered esssential to the human condition ; and

in some detail. At this point in our survey, however, our attention

in his phrase, "the contemporariness of the non-coetaneus." It

would be difficult to say just how representative Frankl's views of the Catholic Americanist position are without a thorough investigation

of many other Catholic essayists ; however, the pages of writers such

as Vasconcelos, Derisi, or Finlayson reveal many ideological simi­ larities. The discussion of the rediscovery of America has served to point out a number of themes which were shared and developed by many writers of different national backgrounds and of different ideological formation. Most conspicuous among these is the constant reference to what may be termed the "nativism-versus-universalism" polarity. Significantly, most of the essayists are aware that this polarity must in some way be transcended before Spanish America can realize her full potential. Of equal significance is the commonly shared sense of the American destiny : implicitly or explicitly these writers are cogni162. The two works of Juan Natalicio Gonzalez which Frankl cites at considerable length are Procuo y formaciOn de la cultura paraguaya (Asunci6n, 1938), and El Paraguay y la lucha por su expresion (Asunci6n, 1945). �63. Juan Natalicio Gonzalez, El Paraguay eterno ,as cited by Frankl, Espiritu 11 p. 446. 164. Frankl, Esp£ritu y camino, p. 476.

camtno,

argentinidad, mexicanidad,

or

peruanidad-will

be discussed

the Americanist position in terms of some of the most vigorous and

persuasive ideology shaping present-day Spanish America : that of the radical Left.

The Ne'W Humanism and the Left

103

cultural distinctiveness of national groups. Most important, such views are predicated upon the belief that Marxism can appeal only

v I THE

to man's stomach, never to his head, and even less likely to his heart. It is not proposed here that "the material conditions which breed

NEW HUMANI SM

Communism" have had no causal relationship to Latin America's revolutionary movements, nor that Communist governments outside the Western Heinisphere have not attempted to take full advantage

AND THE LEFT

of these. What I do propose is simply that a numerous, articulate, and-on occasion-influential group of Spanish American writers have embraced the ideology and program of the extreme Left for reasons which are often ignored by writers who are not well grounded in Spanish America's past and present and who are insensitive to Marxism's intellectual and spiritual attraction. Although there were important essayists writing from a Leftist

NORTH

AMERICANS

HAVE

BEEN

HARD

PUT

IN

RECENT

years to account for the obvious vigor of the Spanish American Left. The explanations most frequently heard are based on the vie\Y that the sociological, the political, and most of all the econmnic

viewpoint toward the close of the nineteenth century, it was in the 1920's that a distinctive Spanish American radicalism began to emerge. The century, we have seen, opened with a broad-fronted attack upon scientism and related movements.

Voluntarism, intuitionism,

conditions "which breed Communism" have provided a fertile field for

and a revived emphasis upon idealism and spirituality characterize

the agents of Moscow. Students of the Latin American Left have

the times. The essayists of the period-Rod6, Vasconcelos, Caso,

maintained, moreover, that the Spanish American Communist is essentially no different from any other supporter of international communism, 1 and that a sharp line may readily be drawn dividing the "democratic nativist" movements of the Left from those that are obviously Moscow-or Peking-dominated. Although these views undeniably have some basis in political realities, they are

Henriquez Urena, Tamayo, and others-sought to liberate the Spanish American from the adoration of materialism and of technical advance for its own sake. Yet most of these writers were very much aware of Spanish America's material needs. In short, they did not propose idealism, spirituality, or

desinteres

as a substitute for bread and land. The indigenist writers, a group

inadequate and deceptively simplistic. They fail to account for the

which took an active part in defining the century's new Americanism,

appearance of radical Leftist movements when the material con­

were like";se deeply concerned with the obvious material inadequa­

ditions hardly warrant their existence, 2 and they fail to consider the

1. A responsible and well-informed student of Spanish American radicalism' Robert !· Alexander, has stated on page 32 of his Com!f!unism in Latin America (New Brunswick, 1957) that "There could be no greater IIDstake than to believe that the Communists of Latin America are somehow 'different,' that because they sre Latin American, they do not share the characteristics of Communists in other parts of the world." This statement, written incidentally before the Sino-Soviet split had appeared has only limited validity. The fact that Communists in Latin America "share th� characteristics of Communists in other parts of the world" does not, for example preclude the possibility that they may have additional distinctive characteristics of thek o�. �t must also be rememrn:red that in our study ":e are .�scussing a generalized . of Commumst political activity. radiCalism rather than the specJ!ic question 2. The recent Cuban revolution is of course the most striking case. Responsible commentators-Theo�ore D"!-per, for example-have frequently pointed out that Cuba was not by Latm Amencan standards a poor country before Castro's rise: the middle class was rather well developed and the economy, despite the substantial profits reaped by North American interests, was functioning reasonably well. It i� true that some 25 per cent of the laboring force were very poor cane-workers who

cies of life for the continent's masses. But this material preoccupation has not, in the best of these essayists, been considered an end in itself ; rather it is viewed as a means by which man may realize his full potential free of the trammels imposed by the physical struggle for life. Confidence in the capabilities of the native American, a deep sense of the utopian destiny of the New World, and the belief that the ethnic richness of America demands that the continent play suffered long seasons of unemployment, but their poverty clearly was not the prime force behind Castro's rise anj his succeeding shifts to the Left. A host of other "non­ materialistic" reasons such as feelings of national pride, s romantic, utopian, vision of the ideal state, s deep probing for s new humanism, an existential commitment to s "project,'' etc., lie behind recent events in Cubs. An interesting (but partisan) view of these aspects of Castro's regime is presented in Jean Paul Ssrtre's impressions of contemporary Cuba, Sartre on Cuba (New York, 1961).

104

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

a profoundly ecumenical role in humanity's present crisis have err couraged Spanish American intellectuals to hope that what they term un nuevo humanismo--a new humanism-might emerge in the hemisphere. That the instruments by which material problems might be solved and the stage set for this flowering of the human spirit would not be those of laissez faire capitalism may be appreciated readily. The rejection of everything which the nineteenth century stood for-the cult of material progress, the dog-eat-dog world of biological survival-made homo economicus, be he financier, in­ dustrialist, or peW bourgeois, an object of scorn and derision. These attitudes were, of course, heavily underscored by Spanish America's political and economic experience during the early decades of this century. Simply stated, the underlying feeling of Latin Americans was that the great industrial capitalist nations were the exploiters, and they were the exploited. Whether this view is factually defensible is not under discussion here ; but the fact of its existence and persis­ tence must be reckoned with. Though it may come as a surprise to few, North America, the most obvious representative of contemporary industrial-capitalist society, has traditionally been singled out as the foremost example of such a society's shortcomings. Yet the writers of nineteenth­ century Spanish America professed sincere admiration for the United States. The pages of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (181 1-88), the greatest Spanish American essayist of his day, are full of appre­ ciation of North American grass-roots democracy, of our respect for the individual, and of the United States' material progress. Sarmiento was perhaps more outspoken in this regard than were most of his contemporaries, yet there are good indications that his attitude was typical. Toward the end of the century, the United States continued to be respected, but with something less than the blind devotion of earlier years : the great Cuban essayist and patriot, Jose Marti, in his penetrating observations of the North America of the 1880's and early 1890's, expressed a more realistic view of the United States as a nation undergoing substantial changes in character and values.3 The economic development following the Civil War, the emergence of the nation as a world power, the search for foreign markets and for lucrative foreign investment, led to new economic and political relationships between the United States and 3. A good source, in English translation, of Martf's writings on the United States is Manuel Pedro Gonzalez, Jose Mart£, Epic Chronicler of the United States in the Eighties (Chapel Hill, 1953).

The New Humanism and the Left

105

Spanish America. The "holy kiss of fraternal amity"4 of which the early nineteenth-century Spanish Americans sang was giving way under pressure of Manifest Destiny and the Big Stick. It was soon replaced in Latin America by such catch-phrases as "Yankee im­ perialism" and "the Colossus of the North." The turn of the century witnessed a veritable flowering of anti­ Yankee sentiment among the essayists. Rod6, always polite, always somewhat "cold and haughty,"5 set forth in his Ariel the now famous symbolism of the spiritual, ethereal representative of Latin civili­ zation (Ariel) contrasted with the materialistic, self-centered Caliban. Rod6's critique of North American culture is neither hateful nor completely one-sided; he simply pointed out that the spirit of Caliban doininated in the United States, and that Spanish America should be on her guard to preserve the best of her traditional Latin humanism. Rod6's followers, the arielista writers, continued this line of criticism. Carlos Arturo Torres warned Spanish America against imitating the "degenerated" empiricism and exaggerated utilitarianism of the United States, 6 and Manuel Dlaz Rodriguez, concerned specifically with the position of the creative artist in Spanish America, decried the prostitution of art for material gain-or "Universal Yankee­ izing" as he put it. 7 These essayists, it should be borne in mind, were far from the Left : if anything, they were either apolitical or tacit supporters of the Right. Writers of a more political bent, however, did not limit their critique of North America to a generalized attack on her materialistic values. Venezuela's Rufino Blanco Fombona (1874-1944) , in his highly volatile journalistic style, wrote a series of impassioned ,essays attacking North America's policies and propaganda in the Caribbean area. 8 During this same period, the second decade of the century, the Argentine critic and essayist, Manuel Ugarte (1878-1951), produced one of Spanish America's most realistic analyses of North American econoinic imperialism. His work is significant in that Ugarte, a Socialist, was one of the first Spanish Americans to discuss 4. The phrase is from the Ecuadorean poet Jooo Joaqufn Olmedo's patriotic ode "To the Victory of Junfn," written in 1825. 5. Fernando Dfez de Medina, Sariri: Una r�plica al Ariel de Rod6 (La Paz, 1954), p. 12. For this indigenista's attitudes toward Rod6, see above Chapter IV, p. 91. 6. Carlos Arturo Torres, Estudios de crttica moderna (Madrid, 1917), pp. 104-8. 7. Manuel Dfaz Rodriguez, Camino de perfeccion (Caracas, 1942), p. 24. The original edition of the book is 1908. 8. See especially his sketch "Noticias Yanquis" probably written during 1917 or 1918 and included in E. H. Hespelt et al. (eds.) A n A nthology of Spanish American Literature (New York, 1946), pp. 621-22.

106

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

the Yankee menace in Marxist terms. However, like many of the

indigenism an d radicalism have togeth er formed th e background for

moderate Socialists of the period, he lacked the passion of the zealot and the philosophical intensity of the genuine radical. In a frequently quoted speech, delivered in New York at Columbia Univeristy in the year 1912, we see Ugarte admiring North American culture on the one hand, while maintaining a sharply critical view of her high­ handed policies in Spanish America on the other. He speaks of "the

107

the work of one of the most significant groups of contemporary Spanish American essayists : Manuel Gonzalez Prada (1848-1918), J. Carlos Mariategui ( 1895-1930), Antenor Orrego (1892 ), and Victor Raul Haya de la Torre (1895-) . While proclaiming the --

racial equality and cultural achievements of the native American, these writers also sought fundamental changes in the continent's

good sense and basic honesty of this admirable country,''9 and yet

political and economic order. Some of these writers-notably

maintains the attitude of the political realist.

In one of his best

Mariategui-in their desire to bring about an "inner revolution" in

that "To invoke ethics in international affairs is almost always a confession of defeat. " 10 Neither an appeal to ethics nor an emotional

Leftist movement-that of "personal radicalism." During the 1920's

response to Yankee imperialism is called for ; rather Spanish America

Spanish American Left, the Peruvian group wrote extensively; their

must dispassionately analyze the nature of the menace and organize itself to meet it. Ugarte achieved considerable notoriety as a defender

continental radical interest, and several of their members played

knmvn essays, El destino de un Continente (1923), he tells his readers

man's nature have added another dimension to the Spanish American and early 1930's the crucial period in the shaping of the contemporary important literary-political journal, Amauta, became a focal point of

of Latin America against the imperialists, but by the mid-twenties

major roles in organizing the powerful APRA party.12

he had faded into obscurity. Recent critics have noted a certain superficiality in Ugarte's writing.11 Rather than superficiality, his

was closely connected with radicalism.

greatest shortcoming was his insensitivity to a fundamental problem

twentieth-century Mexico, however, has tended to make her radicals

As in the Andean region, the indigenist movement in other areas The unique history of

which concerned the arielistas as well as many of Ugarte's Marxist

appear rather respectable. In view of the fact that the majority

brethren: that of achieving material goals without sacrificing human

in Mexico has, since the Revolution of 1910-17, been committed to

values.

In short, Ugarte seems to view Spanish America's economic

well-being and political independence as an ultimate objective rather than as a prelude to a radically new era characterized by a Utopian vision of human liberation and creativity. Like the arielistas and the political essayists, the indigenista writers have played an important part in the development of a distinctive Spanish American radicalism. While the nineteenth century brought substantial material gain to the continent's small middle and upper classes, the continued existence of a huge agrarian population, barely subsisting within a virtually feudal economic order provided reformers and radicals with abundant material for their polemics. Since the bulk of the lowest economic class was com­ posed of Indians, mestizos, and Negroes, those who have sought a more equitable economic order have, of necessity, been vitally con­ cerned with the indigenist movement. Thus, in the Andean region 9. Cited by Robert G. Mead, Breve historia del 6118ayo americana (Mexico, 1956), p. S5. 10. J. Fred Rippey (ed.), The Destiny of a Continent, trans. C. A. Phillips (New York, 1925), p. 125. 11. See Alberto Zum Felde, Indice crltico de la literatura .hup El . · �noamen.cana: emayo y la cr!tica (Mexico, 1954), pp. 315-17; and Mead, Breve hut01"Ul, p. 86.

"revolutionary institutions," a good deal of Mexican radicalism has borne the government stamp of approval.

For example the radical

indigenism of Vasconcelos (at least the Vasconcelos of the second and third decades of the century) might well have been considered "dangerous" in a different political atmosphere. Likewise, the radical humanism of a Samuel Ramos in a more conservative enViron­ ment than that of Mexico of the 1930's would quite probably have been suspect. Of course Mexico has produced, and continues to produce, writers and artists of radical leanings who operate outside the confines of the PRV3 In the late 1920's and early 1930's an interesting group, including such ardent indigenistas as the painters Atl and Rivera, gathered about the j ournal Crisol. While some of 12. A valuable study of the APRA-The Alianza Popular R evolucionaria Americana -is Harry Kantor's "The Ideology and Program of the Peruvian Aprista Movement," University of California Publicatiom in Political Science, IV, No. 1 (1953), pp. 1-164. See also Eugenio Chang-Rodrfguez, La literatura polUica de Gonzalez Prada, Mariategui y Haya de la Torre (Mexico, 1957) . 13. Perhaps the best known of these radicals is the pro-Communist labor leader and organizer Vicente Lombardo Toledano. Since Lombardo is fundamentally not a man of letters he has been excluded from this study. An analysis of his precise relationship to the majority party of Mexico, the PRI (Partido Revolucionario In­ stitucional), is presented by Alexander, Communism in Latin America, pp. 342-49.

108

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

the contributors to this review appear to be orthodox Communists (Carlos Gutierrez Cruz, for example) , others, such as the young poet and prose writer-to-be Octavio Paz, represented a more hetero­ dox position-and often an essentially more radical one. Mexican and Peruvian radicals are not alone in their indigenista orientation : all genuine Spanish American radicals have, regardless of the racial composition of their own nation, felt more or less com­ mitted to a sympathetic view of indigenism. The problems of the Negro and mulatto proletariat of the Caribbean have consistently concerned the Cuban Leftists, and even in "white" Buenos Aires, radicals have shown interest in indigenism and related matters.14 Anti-Yankee sentiments and indigenist sympathies, though typical attitudes of the Latin radical, do not lie at the very root of his adherence to a specific economic or his world view. Nor does ' political praxis, such as that of Russian communism, define his position satisfactorily. Stated simply, these writers-like Rimbaud and the French Surrealists of the 1920's-seek to "changer la vie" rather than simply to "transformer le monde" along the lines of say a strict Marxist pattern. Nietzsche's cry for a thoroughgoing reform of human values, Caso's interpretation of distinctively human acts as those motivated by disinterest, and Waldo Frank's infectious personalist mystique are all part of this movement. If one accepts the proposition that a fundamental change in the material, technical ordering of society-government, economic institutions, etc.-is inconceivable without a corresponding fundamental change in man's inner self, the "radical humanism" of Spanish America becomes much more comprehensible. The writings of the Peruvian Leftists-Prada, Mariategui, Antenor Orrego, and Haya de Ia Torre--form a body of material which yields valuable insights into the development of what I have called a distinctive Spanish American radicalism. Moreover, the general lines of the continent's intellectual history, sketched out earlier in this study are well illustrated in the group's thinking. It is noteworthy, too, that the political impact of these Peruvians has been substantial : in the 1962 elections, Haya and his Apristas were suc-

cessful in winning a plurality, though succeeding events have pre­ vented this victory from being consummated.'5 The "father of Peruvian radicalism," it is generally acknowledged, was Manuel Gonzalez Prada. Significantly, the critics usually refer to him as a "liberal" and, if we keep in mind the basically anticlerical connotation of the term in Hispanic America, they are quite right. Reared in an extremely Catholic environment, as a youth he reacted sharply against all forms of religious ritual and practice.16 As a young man he undoubtedly was exposed to the eclectic positivism of Guyau and the religious skepticism of RenanP The disastrous defeat of Peru by Chile in the War of the Pacific (1874-83) served as the catalyst for his career. In his attempt to discover the weakness which might account for his country's collapse, he isolated several factors : the unwillingness of the Indian to fight for an oppressive, vaguely comprehended national state ; the backwardness of the nation's intellectuals; and the cynical self-interest of Peru's political leaders. Lying behind all these flaws, Prada felt, was the debilitating cultural heritage of Spain-her religion, her pretentious aristocracy, her fanaticism, and her legacy of administrative inefficiency.18 In a series of forthright essays-Pdginas libres (1894), Horas de lucha (1908) , and many others published separately and then collected in posthumous volumes-Prada boldly criticized all that was tra­ ditional not only in Peruvian society but, by extension, throughout Hispanic America. It is quite difficult to categorize Gonzalez Prada's fundamental positions, for his diagnosis of his country's ills is much more extensive than his specific remedies. It is clear that he had a deep positivistic faith in science and technology as the great deliverers of humanity : in one of his best-known early speeches he proclaims that "Positi­ vistic Science . . . in only one century of application to industry has produced more good for Humanity than have thousands of years of Theology and Metaphysics . . . . "19 It is equally apparent that he desired the complete separation of church and state,2° the redemption

14. The Cuban leftists of the late �wenties and early thirties-Juan Marinello, Alejo Carpentier, Jorge Manach, Franmsco lchas
p. 13. 16. Chang-Rodrfguez, La literatura politica, pp. 77-78. 17. Ibid., pp. 79-83. 18. For a clear expression of these ideas see Manuel Gonzalez Prada's "Disourso en el Politeama" in his Paginll8 libres (Lima, 1946), pp. 63-71. The original date of the piece is 1888. 19. Gonzalez Prada, Paginll8 libres, p. 67. 20. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura poUtica, p. 83.

Apristll8, Raul R6a, etc.

109

15. Though the situation was very different from 1962, the Apri8tll8 claimed that the national elections of 1931 were won by the third party. See Kantor, "Ideology of Peruvian Aprista Movement," University of California Publications in Political Science,

110

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

of the exploited Indian, and a more equitable distribution of the national wealth. Although he recognized the relationship of the Indian problem to those of land tenure and attacked the idea that property was sacred, he proposed no clear program of radical agrarian reform.21 Prada's radicalism was personal, eclectic, and, in his later writings, tinged with a vaguely conceived anarchism. He distrusted governments-even those established in the name of the Revolution. He had a wonderful understanding of human failings and of the way in which revolutionary ideals age, become rigid and, eventually, conservative. His writings will indicate at one point a fatalistic acceptance of this process (" . . . every triumphant revolutionary degenerates into a conservative"), and then, just a few pages later, he will proclaim the future success of a sweeping humanitarian revolution.22 Critics who have sought consistency in Prada's thought -particularly when his earlier and later works are viewed as a single body-are usually frustrated in their attempts. The marked nationalism of his work of the 1880's contrasted with the broad internationalism of many of the essays written in the closing decades of his life is a case in point. The scientism, and great respect for a technologically ordered world seen in his early essays can hardly be accommodated to the social thought of the nineteenth century's foremost anarchist, Bakunin, whose ideas supposedly influenced Prada substantially.23 Whether he was a Positivist or an anarchist, a materialist or romantic idealist, a Bakuninite or Marxist, would be difficult to say ; for Prada was a bit of all these. But most of all he was an agitator, an awakener of men's minds and spirits, an ap6stol to use a favorite epithet of Spanish Americans. And despite the vagueness and inconsistency of his intellectual equipment, he was capable of understanding the revolution in terms which clearly approach the humanistic radicalism of more recent writers : . . . Humanity has stopped agitating for secondary things and is asking for radical changes. No one now expects that the happiness of the downtrodden will come about through par­ liaments. . . . governmental machinery does not operate in favor of the populace but in favor of the dominant clique. Recognizing the insufficiency of politics in achieving the greatest good for the individual . . . the proletariat will resolve the ultimate question by the only efficient means : revolution. 21. Ibid., p. 114. 22. GonzB.Iez Prada, "Discurso de Mayo 1," Horas de lucha (Buenos Aires, 1956), p. 55. Originally delivered to workers meeting, May 1, 1905. 23. Zum Felde, Indice crUico, p. 372. '

The New Humanism and the Left

111

Not those local revol.ut�ons that overthrow presidents or czars and conve� a republic mto a monarchy or an autocracy into a repr�sentattve government, but the world revolution; the rev­ olutiOn that erases borders, that abolishes nationality and that summons all Humanity to take possession and to cuitivate the Iand.24 One wonders what Prada's precise conception of this great rev­ olution was, and to what extent might it involve fundamental transformations in man's values and in his very nature. Despite the fact that Prada offered few answers to these questions, he remains unique in the Spanish America of the turn of the century. Not until the period following the First World War did writers emerge who could challenge him in the degree of their radicalism in the boldness of their critique of existing institutions, and in th� profundity of their indigenism. The date of Prada's death, 1918 is significant, for it marks the end of the World War, the culmination of the Russian Revolution, and, if we go back a few months to 1917, the termination of the military phase of the Mexican Revolution. In Peru, Prada's writings were eagerly absorbed by the generation approaching maturity during this tumultuous period. In his waning years, from his desk as director of the National Library and in his Lima residence, Prada exerted a direct personal influence upon a number of these young radicals : Mariategui, Haya de la Torre, Cesar Vallejo, and Federico More, to name only a few.2s Of this group, Jose Carlos Mariategui, despite the brevity of his life (or perhaps by virtue of his untimely death), has achieved the status of a legend among Spanish American radicals. A list of writers and intellectuals who paid him homage during his life and after his passing includes some of the most illustrious names in Spanish America.26 His short but brilliant career is noteworthy for many reasons : in few men has the tension between nativism and Europeanism been so great ; in few thinkers has the inner struggle between spirituality and materialism been so acute ; and few political leaders have been so forced by circumstance to walk the razor's edge between expedient compromise and personal integrity. Ma­ riategui began his literary career as a rather typical dilettante : a writer of sketches, poems, and plays-works which were, even in the opinion of their author, characterized by "end-of-the-century 24. Gonzalez Prada, "Discurso de Mayo 1," Horas de lucha, pp. 52-53. 25. Chang-Rodrfguez, La literatura poUtica, pp. 71-72. 26. See below, pp. 117-18.

..,

112

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

La escena contempordnea (1925), Defensa del Marxismo El alma matinal (1950), and perhaps most important, the Siete ensayos de interpretaciOn de la realidad peruana (1928), are

decadentism and ornamentation. "27 The internal factors which led

the titles of

Mari.B.tegui to abandon the ornate, decadent style of his earliest

(1934),

writings are not readily apparent ; however, the external factors­ chiefly the hardships suffered by the lower classes as a result of the inflation of the Peruvian economy during World War I-have been pointed out as a logical cause for his increasing concern for sociologi­ cal, political, and economic matters.28 In 1918 Mari!ltegui joined forces with several young radicals in the establishment of a decidedly Leftist newspaper,

La Raz6n.

The following year he emerged as an

outspoken defender of a general strike initiated by Peruvian workers in protest against the high cost of living. During this same period he founded, with Cesar Falc6n, the

Comite de Propaganda Socialista,

a group which shortly afterward became the Socialist party of Peru. Mariategui's radicalism) however, was as yet in the forln.ative stage. Toward the close of 1919, he was faced with a crucial decision. Peru's new strong man, Augusto B. Leguia, recognizing the threat posed by Mariategui and several others, offered these dangerous young intellectuals

government

scholarships

for foreign

study.

Mari­

ategui, poor and for the most part self-educated, accepted.

He

was, of course, roundly criticized for his decision, though recent writers have justified his position by pointing out that this contact with Europe was essential in his development as a radical leader.29 From the end of 1919 until 1923 he traveled in Europe, observing at close range what he later called "the great movements of ren­ ovation. "

In Paris he met Henri Barbusse, a leading French rad­

ical of the day; in Italy he witnessed the rising tide of Mussolini's fascism ; and in Germany he hopefully watched the attempts of the Communists to establish a radical Marxist state. He con­

(reno­

stantly read those writers whom he considered "renovators" vadores)-principally the Marxists, but also many others.

The

essays which grew out of these European experiences are sprinkled with references to a wide range of authors including Romain Rolland, Ortega, Sorel, Croce, Papini, Spengler, Freud, and Lenin. By the mid-twenties,

after returning to Peru,

Mariategui's distinctive

radicalism had taken shape. As was the case with so many Americans of the period-Americans of the North as well as of the South-the New World was "rediscovered" following the

wanderjahre

in the

Old. Thus Mariategui's major writings-the essays collected under '.ll. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura poUtica, p. 131. 28. IIJid., p. 134. 29. Ibid., p. 137.

113

characterized by a preoccupation with contemporary European thought and by the application of this thought to the American scene. Mariategui's critics have suggested that certain "errors" in his understanding of Spanish American reality are results of this "Euro­ peanism." Professor Chang-Rodriguez, for example, explains the racist terms which Mariategui uses in writing of the Negro and Oriental on this basis.30 Mariategui believed that the Indians and

workers who were to achieve Spanish America's revol�tion required a new mythology to replace traditional beliefs. This too may be viewed as a bookish application of a European idea to the American reality. Mariategui, incidentally, admitted readily that his faith in the revolutionary

mythos

stemmed from his reading of Sorel.31

Further examples could easily be given; the fact remains that his frequent assertions to the contrary, Mariategui's Americanism and indigenism were strongly colored by his contacts with Europeans and by his familiarity with European thought of the period. What fascinates the present-day reader of Mariategui most, and what may account for his great appeal among Spanish American Leftists of the 1920's and 1930's is the remarkable heterodoxy of his radicalism. Despite the fact that he led a small group of doctrinaire Marxists who formed a radically "Socialist" party in the late 1920's,32 one wonders how long Mariategui would have remained a follower of the Third International had he lived to witness the Moscow trials of the 1930's, the assassination of Trotsky, or the Hitler-Stalin pact. There is abundant evidence that Mariategui differed with "official" communism even during his lifetime.

On specific matters of his­

torical interpretation, and on the broad subject of the organization of the future society of Peru, he clearly deviated from the Third International's position.33 At the First Latin American Communist Conference (Buenos Aires, June, 1929) the Communists themselves had substantial doubts regarding the program he submitted for the political organization of the Peruvian Left.34 However, the essence 30. Ibid., p. 182. 31. Jo� Carlos Marilitegui, Siete e118ayos de interpretaci6n de la realidad peruana (Lima, 1959), p. 167. 32. Alexander, Communism in Latin America, pp. 222-23. 33. Ibid., p. 223. Note especially Alexander's footnote regarding the varying

opinions held by Ma.rill.tegui's fellow radicals concerning his precise position. See

also Chang-Rodriguez, pp. 197-98. 34. Chang-Rodrfguez, La literatura politica, pp. 197, 164-65.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

of Mariategui's heterodoxy lies deeper than matters of "practical" or

on the question of lay education versus religious education he expresses

tactical differences with the Communist leadership.

a position which, for a Leftist, is surprisingly neutral.40 He doubted

1 14

Mariategui, unlike many radicals, held to a profoundly non­ materialistic world-view. He never expresses a forthright denial of the religious, the mystical, or the spiritual nature of man. Very

115

that what he termed the "demo-liberal-bourgeois" secular school would contribute to the revolution ; it is only through the revolution (and after it) that true "liberty of education" will be achieved.n

much a part of the Spanish American intellectual movement against scientism, rationalism, and the cult of material progress, Mariategui's

Writing in 1925, he finds that in such countries as Mexico and Russia

revolutionary exhortation bears little resemblance to the rather

their mystique, and their religiosity."42 One would conclude that

earthbound appeals of many "practical" Communists. His ringing

education without these qualities holds little, if any, appeal for

"the revolution has given . . . the schools their myth, their emotion,

essay "La emoci6n de nuestro tiempo" (1925) brings this attitude

Mariategui.

out with great force. The skepticism and nihilism of the post-World

factor" in his

War period, he tells his readers, has brought about a terrible human

clerical a priori reasoning have been completely surpassed-that

crisis.

But, he adds, "from the crisis of this skepticism and nihilism,

life is born anew (and) the powerful, urgent necessity of a faith and.a myth capable of moving men to live dangerously."36 Like so many of his Spanish American contemporaries he points out the hollowness of the nineteenth century's materialistic values ; the pointlessness of attempting to live

avec douceur,

and the absurdity of the "super­

stitious respect for the idea of progress. "36 Although Mariategui devotes many pages to specific social, economic, and political prob­ lems, and to a decidedly revolutionary resolution of these, his deepest commitment is to the inner revolt, to an essentially human rather than to a political radicalism. To effect this transformation a new mythology is called for : "Neither reason nor science can satisfy completely the need for the infinite that exists in man . . . only myth has the rare power of filling the depths of his being."37 The heterodoxy of Mariategui's radicalism may be better under­ stood by considering certain details of his early life. His biographers point out that he was reared in a profoundly Catholic environment ;as one of his first literary pieces is a sonnet steeped in the spirit of Spanish religious mysticism, "Elogio a la celda ascetica" (1916) . At about the same time he won a prize for his religious chronicle, "La procesi6n del Senor de los milagros. " Even during his European travels, when his radicalism was in its formative stage, he made certain that his first-born received baptism.

And in Peru shortly

afterward he refused to join Haya de la Torre in the latter's cam­ paign for a strict separation of church and state.39 In several articles 35. J. C. Marititegui, El alma matincl (Lima, 1959), p. 18. 36. Ibid., pp. 13-14. 3i. Ibid., p. 18. 38. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura poUtica, p. 152. 39. Ibid., p. 153.

In the rather academic chapter devoted to "the religious

Siete ensayos,

he begins by stating "the days of anti­

period when 'freethinking' criticism contented itself with a sterile and cursory dismissal of all dogmas and churches, in favor of the orthodoxly atheistic, secular and rationalistic dogma of 'free thought. ' The religious concept has grown i n breadth and i n depth. . . .

And

religious institutions and feelings are now recognized as being very different from what was naively assumed by those who used to identify religiosity with obscurantism."43 He follows these remarks by reference to Waldo Frank's favorable estimate of the role of religious belief in the Western World, and by an analysis of the role of catholicism in Spanish America. Carefully avoiding a frontal assault on the church, he concludes that socialism rightfully considers diverse "ecclesiastical forms and religious doctrines" as peculiar and inherent to the political and economic regimes which produce them : it is the Marxist's primary objective to change these regimes rather than to attempt to change the religious institutions which are purely derivative.« What Mariategui is obviously saying is that religious belief-faith, an irrational mythos of some sort-is an undeniable concomitant of the human condition : this view is sub­ stantiated-on a slightly different level-when he parenthetically warns his readers not to confuse historical materialism with philosoph­ ical materialism.46 It is clear that as a Marxist he accepted the former, but as a religious humanist he rejected the latter. 40. Ibid., pp. 154-55. 41. Ibid., p. 156. 42. J. C. Marill.tegui, "Introducci6n a un estudio sobre el problema de Ia educaci6n publica," Repertorio Americano, XI (Sept. i, 1925), 1�, as cited by Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura po11tica, pp. 155-56. 43. Marill.tegui, Siete ensayo8, p. 140. 44. [bid., p. 16i. 45. Ibid., p. 166.

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The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST O F I DENTITY

1 17

A section of Professor Chang-Rodriguez' valuable analysis of

Mariategui was intensely interested in the concrete problems of

Mariategui's political writings bears the appropriate title "Religion

his native Peru. But just as his Marxism was modified by a profound humanism, one might even say by an existentialist view of man, his

is not the opiate of the people." The same critic also notes that Mariategui's radicalism "altered his religious ideas very little, on the other hand, his religious concepts did alter his political ideas. "46 This point is well taken ; less defensible is his statement that "[Ma­ riategui] never succeeded in freeing himself completely from the religious training that he received during his childhood and youth."47 For one thing, it is quite clear that Mariategui was philosophically a relativist. Although he recognizes that religious beliefs, "blind" faith, or a completely irrational devotion to a particular cause, have undeniable reality for human beings, Mariategui clearly rejects the idea that absolute truth is embodied in any one religious belief. A specific dogma has, he feels, merely an instrumental value: "Dogma is useful as is a navigator's chart or a map: it is the only guarantee of not repeating again, under the illusion of advancing, the same course. . . . Dogma is not an itinerary but rather a compass for the journey. To think frtlely, the first condition to be met is that we give up our concern over absolute freedom."48 What is important, and what gives men as well as societies their strength, is a willingness to live dangerously, to believe in something, to live "agonically" as Unamuno might have put it. All this and much more, Mariategui holds, can be incorporated into a Marxist world-view. "Vitalism, activism, Pragmatism, relativism-none of these philosophical currents, to the extent that they have been able to contribute to the Revolution, have remained on the sidelines of the Marxist intellectual movement."49 He consistently attempts to present Marxism as a position based upon "science, not scientism"; he points out that the deterministic element in Marxism has been overemphasized by the movement's enemies ; rather, he feels, it is creative and voluntaristic.50 He could even state that ". . .Only because of a convention of language can Marxism be opposed to or distinguished from idealism.'' 51 Finally, he was disturbed that a philosopher of Unamuno's sensi­ bilities could oppose the movement, and he felt certain that if the great Spanish thinker would study "the spirit-not the letter-of Marxism" he would modify his criticism. 52 46. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura poUtica, p. 160. 47. Ibid., p. 159. 48. J. C. Mariategui, Defema del Marxismo (Lima, 1959), p. 105. 49. Ibid., p. 39. 50. Ibid., pp. 55-58. 51. Ibid., p. 52. 52. Mariategui, El alma matinal, p. 15i .

nationalism was inseparable from a broad Americanism. One of the most striking aspects of this position is seen in his attitude toward North America. Unlike many Spanish American radicals he rejects wholesale, simplistic anti-Yankeeism. He finds certain North Americans, such as the essayist Waldo Frank and the writers of the New Republic, following a philosophical trajectory similar to his own. When he speaks of the "magnificent idealistic forces which have been at work in Yankee history" he singles out several groups which have played a significant role as the leavening in this nation's life-the Puritans, the Jews, and the American Transcendentalists. These ideas clearly parallel those of Frank, whose books�specially the

Re-discovery of America-are

warmly praised. 53 Mariategui

understandably felt attracted to other Spanish Americans who shared this Americanist fervor. He was particularly sympathetic toward the ideas of Jose Vasconcelos, whose indigenist sympathies, radical idealism, and religious views coincided closely with his own. 54 A good indication of Mariategui's stature as an Americanist and of his impact upon other Spanish American writers can be seen in the many fervent tributes dedicated to him by his contemporaries. Many of these articles appeared

as

special

homenajes

published on

the occasion of his death in leading literary journals of the continent ; a substantial selection of these essays was reprinted in the widely circulated review

El Repertorio Americano.56

His admirers include

doctrinaire Communists (the Cuban Marinello, for example) ; less

orthodox

Marxist

sympathizers

(Cuba's

Mafiach,

Argentina's

Alberto Gerchunoff, and North America's Waldo Frank) ; and a host of others-Chile's Gabriela Mistral, Uruguay's Horacia Quiroga, Co­ lombia's Sanfn Cano, and many of the Peruvian

Apristas.

Even a

conservative like VIctor Andres Belaunde, editor of the pro-Catholic 53. Ibid., p. 153. 54. Ibid., pp. 28, 121. Had Mariategui lived longer his attitude toward Vasconcelos might well have changed, since the Mexican essayist turned sharply to the Right during the mid-thirties: Vasconcelos became a vociferous defender of the church and an impassioned anti-Communist. Of course, given Mariategui's deep-seated religiosity it is not inconceivable that had he not died in 1930, his own ideological trajectory might have been similar to that of Vasconcelos. 55. See especially "Del homenaje peruano a J. C. Mariategui," Repertorio Ameri­ cano, XX (1930), 308-10, "Del homenaje argentino a J. C. Mariategui, " Repertorio A mericano, XX (1930) , 344-47; and "Del tributo cubano a Jose Carlos Mari:Hegui," Repertorio Americana, XXI (1930), 121-23, 142-44.

118

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

could find much to praise in Mariategui's most

119

famous work, the Siete ensayos de interpretacion de la realidad peruana. 58

Amauta and later amplified El pueblo continente (1939).

tendencies, 57 the most powerful native Leftist movement of the time,

key themes : Americanism viewed as a mission or destiny ; Marxism accepted as a soci�conomic instrument ; indigenism seen as an

Mercurio peruano, While

the

Communists

questioned

Mariategui's

heterodox

the APRA, doubted his devotion to genuinely indigenous radicalism. It has been suggested that the superficial rift between Haya de la Torre, the Aprista's leader, and Mariategui, was in effect widened by the deliberate efforts of Moscow. 58 It is certainly clear that a great

deal of Mariategui's ideology was substantially the same as that of

and organized his ideas in the volume Orrego builds his essays around several

almost mystical force emanating from the land ; and a neohumanism held as the defining characteristic of the creative, suprarational society which was to emerge in the New World. Orrego's earliest essays in Amauta deal with fundamental philo­ sophical positions, rather than with specific analyses of political or

the A pristas, though differences did exist. One of these lay in the

cultural problems. He states in

fact that Mariategui conceived of the Peruvian-and the Spanish

systematic philosophy has been that it availed itself of reason to

American-class struggle as part of a broad international movement. Another lay in religious attitudes : the

Apristas

were outspoken

1926

that " . . . the major error of

constrict concepts, when reason is the instrument for arousing and

transmitting intuition. . . . "60 In an essay written shortly afterward,

anti-Catholics while Mariategui was not. Further differences are

"Racionalismo y revoluci6n" he continues this same line of attack

apparent in the general view of history, wherein Mariategui, in

while adding an Orteguian tone to his discussion of reason. He

contrast to Haya, repeatedly underscores the priority of economic

praises the thinker who doesn't merely manipulate pure categories, but who "ascends" from "the circunstancia or realm of daily events

factors in determining the course of events. Aside from these specific matters, there is, in Mariategui's writing--even when he discusses his native Peru-the ring of European inspired Marxist orthodoxy. Finally, it is ironic that the Aprista movement, with its emphasis upon education, the moral code, and an almost religious devotion to

towards the speculative domain. " 61 An even greater debt to the Spanish writer is evident in Orrego's later work when he adopts the distinction between "history" and "pre-history" as developed by Ortega in his essay "Hegel y America."62 Orrego's discussion of

a political cause, should have offered Spanish America's masses

freedom and determinism is likewise set forth in Orteguian terms.

ary myth." It must be remembered that Jose Carlos Mariategui died early in life, after a considerable period of chronic illness, and

style" for a given people as "the resultant of an equation of biological,

before many basic inconsistencies in his thinking could be resolved.

and organized in a definite structure,"63 Ortega's

precisely what Mariategui consistently called for-the "revolution­

But despite these inadequacies, his life, his works, and his mystical humanism brought forth an impressive chorus of sincere admiration: for Leopoldo Lugones-hardly a political bedfellow-he was "the

best of all the leftists" ; for Juan Marinello he was "a far advanced defender of our destiny" ; and for the French radical Henri Barbusse, "a new specimen of American man."59 Among the

Aprista essayists who

continued the Peruvian radical

tradition initiated by Prada and further developed by Mariategui,

two merit special attention : Antenor Orrego and Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, the movement's political leader. Orrego, whose works are somewhat less known than those of Haya, first wrote in the review 56. VIctor Andr�s Belaunde, "En tomo al ultimo libro de Mari:l.tegui," Mercurio Peruano, XX, No. 13!1/140 (Mar.-April, 1930), 132-36. 57. See above, note 34. 58. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura politica, p. 196. 59. Cited in ibid., pp. 202-3.

Thus, when the Peruvian thinker speaks of "a vital modality . . . a psychic, telluric, and historical factors which are brought together

circunstancia

is

immediately suggested. Orrego does not, however, slight the
circunstancia:

"Personality is subject to the determinism which

has been created by man as a collectivity . . . as group consciousness . . . We are not, then, creators, nor are (external) events creators, except in the sense that we are the faithful translators or vehicles of expres­ sion of these dynamic forces which are the ever flowing essence of history." 64 60. Antenor Orrego, "Apuntes para una filosofla o interpretaci6n del pensamiento," A mauta, I (Dec., 1926), 17. 61. Antenor Orrego, "Racionalismo y revoluci6n," Amauta, I (Feb., 1927), 1. 62. Antenor Orrego, El pueblo continente: Ensayos para una interpretaciOn de la America Latina (Santiago de Chile, 1939), p. 52. 63. Ibid., p. 49. 64. Ibid., p. 111.

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The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

As we saw earlier, the Orteguian interest in the

circunstancia

leads inevitably to a pressing desire for self-knowledge, for a deeper understanding of what Orrego would call the "style" or "group

121

cans who attempt to view their revolution in terms of the Inter­ national's orthodoxy see only a distorted image of Europe.70 Orrego, like other supporters of

Aprismo,

did not regard the

spirit." For it is only through this process of autognosis that the

political and economic structures which the revolution was to achieve

individual-or nation-can achieve a degree of creative freedom.

as ends in themselves but rather as the necessary conditions by

This position is clearly formulated by Orrego in one of his later

Amauta

essays : "We Americans are convinced that America will

which man will eventually create a more distinctively human world. Thus, in his

Amauta

essays he concerns himself with such basic

emerge from its own limitations only in proportion to the effort and courage we demonstrate for self-discovery." 6 5 The same idea is

relationship between literary nationalism and Americanism.

amplified and incorporated into his concept of Americanism in the

discussion of these themes parallels the thinking of Waldo Frank to a

Pueblo continente :

"A people or race does not succeed in becmning a

vehicle of historical expression unless it penetrates deeply the hidden intimacy of its own being. " 66 Closely related to Qrrego's analysis of freedom, its limitations,

problems as the continent's general cultural trajectory and the Orrego's

remarkable degree. Like his North American contemporary (a portion of whose

Re-discovery of America

had appeared in

Amauta

in 1927) he struggled to clarify the precise cultural relationship of the New World to the Old. Orrego's version of this relationship

is his philosophy of revolution. Any "idea''

takes the form of a biological metaphor: he states in an early essay

that is to be effective-that is to exert an "historic belligerency"­

that European culture, when transported to America, "decomposes

must be developed as an expression of certain economic, social, and spiritual conditions, i.tJ., the circunstancia. Yet to have historical

and rots." And from this humus, from this "compost heap," a new vigorous plant will come forth. 71 The metaphor is further developed

efficacy, ideas must also "participate in a personal venture ; they

in the Pueblo continente when Orrego explains that decomposition necessarily occurs when a fully developed "cultural organism"

and the

circunstancia

must be incarnated in the dramatic and even tragic twists of fortune of a single life or group of lives. . . . " 67 Without this personal di­ rection, without a group of human beings who are willing to live tragically or "dangerously," as Mariategui would have put it, the "revolutionary idea" will come to naught.

Most important, Orrego

maintains that the basic conditions required for this "revolutionary idea" to become more than an ineffectual utopian notion, are ful­ filled in the

Aprista

movement.

He bases this view on the fact that

Aprismo is "an historical movement,

conditioned by economic, social,

and moral determinism . . . a profoundly vital movement which in turn engenders its own instruments of fulfillment . . . . " 68 The specific human instrument, the "political agglutinator, the point of convergence where one generation polarizes the vital content of the past with humanity's future trajectory" is the APRA leadership, especially Haya de la Torre himself. 6 9 Orrego's critique of the Third International is correspondingly predicated on the belief that it is not rooted in an American

circunstancia.

Therefore, Spanish Ameri-

65. Antenor Orrego, "lQu6 es una filosoffa?," Amauta, III (Nov.-Dec., 1929), 3. 66. Orrego, El pueblo continente, p. 59. 67. Ibid., p. 113. 68. Ibid., p. 116. 69. Ibid.

matures, becomes brittle, and is hence incapable of further evo­ lution. 72 This was precisely the fate of European culture when it came into contact with the New World. The process of "decompo­ sition" was aided, moreover, by the fact that some American societies, the Incan, for example, had already attained a "maturity" equal to--or even more advanced than-that of Europe. Orrego views the clash of the two cultures as a return to "the primordial chaos, to the formless slime, to the original and primitive humus."73 This disintegration, he warns, must not be thought of in absolute terms, for although given forms of cultures perish, what might be called the genes of a potential new culture persist, albeit disunited. These seeds await only an organizing principle to initiate a recomposition, an integration which will lead to new and original expressions. Orrego gives us only a hazy idea of just how this process will be stat ted. At times he states that the spiritual force, the revolutionary mystique em­ bodied in the

Aprista

movement, will provide the catalytic action ;74

70. Ibid., pp. 101-7. 71. Antenor Orrego, "LCu� es 1a cuiturn que crearli Am�rica?," Amauta, II (April, 1928), 3. 72. Orrego, El pueblo continente, p. 29. 73. Ibid., p. 39. 74. Ibid., pp. 123-24.

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The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

while on other occasions he looks for the "terrestrial vital fluids"­ the intimate contact with telluria forces-to provide the needed initial spark. This view of telluric forces is not completely consistent with Orrego's more deterministic notion of the

circunstancia.

Can

the land restrict man's freedom on one hand and liberate his creative potential on the other? Although Orrego may not resolve this in­

consistency completely, his outlook is fundamentally optimistic :

"Nowhere as i n South America does the lower, abysmal world exercise so powerful an influence upon man ; but, in no other place in the world does man have any greater possibility to express the non­ material potentialities of his spirit, since he has, by virtue of his having translated the telluric essence into human expression, ap­ propriated to himself a substance of great density and hence of great richness. "75

Orrego's debt to Waldo Frank is, we have seen, not inconsider­

able. Orrego's extensive use of "organic" metaphors in the

continente, was clearly foreshadowed America. The very first sentence of

in Frank's

Pueblo Re-discovery of

the North American's book reads "Take Europe as an alive organic body."76 This statement is followed closely by such statements as " . . . organic death does not mean inanition. Look at any corpse advanced in its decay, and see how live it is. Europe swarms in death."77 It is not mere coincidence

that Orrego's

Amauta

articles of 1928, in which he speaks of the rot

123

reappears in Orrego's essays. This "integration" will come about through the adoption of new social structures and-even more im­ portant-the acceptance of new intellectual positions such as Ortega's "vitalization of reason-the restoration of reason's intermediate role in thought."80 Orrego would also have a kind of mysticism recognized as a valid form of human experience, especially since he holds that the native American possesses an "inchoate orientalism," an ability to appreciate life "in its subjective totality . . . in its fusion or submersion in God."81 Finally, Marxism, freely interpreted and reformed to suit the needs of the New World, would also contribute to the ideological synthesis. 82 Orrego considers all the existing human elements of the continent as

a fertile, potentially great, but as yet unformed mass : "For four

centuries all races have been melting in the American bonfire. Yesteryear required a disjunctive process; the future demands one of integration and reconstitution !"83 How does Orrego believe that this American melting-pot will eventually produce the desired in­ tegration? A possible way may be found through the unifying role of the APRA.

Yet, to accord such importance to a mere political

ideology would do Orrego an injustice. For at the root of his concept of the "Pueblo continente" is a deep and mystical faith in the American destiny: the fortuitous mixing of races and cultures­ albeit with some guidance by farseeing leaders-will necessarily,

and decomposition of European culture as "fertilizing the new plant" of American culture, should appear only a few months after the same j ournal published portions of the then incomplete Re­

and almost spontaneously, lead to the desired integration.

discovery of America. 78

sensitive nature, will unite with the technically and politically

Frank's thinking closely.

In

several other details Orrego follows

He frequently attacks the modern ten­

dency toward the worship of the machine, toward specialization, and toward the loss of "the panoramic vision of things . . . . "79 These views parallel Frank's recurring theme of "Wholeness" as the "value which alone can make valid the America we discover." As the term "Wholeness" underlies Frank's idea of the American destiny, so the phrase "an integral culture"

(una cultura integral)

constantly

75. Ibid., pp. 154-55. Orrego is also interested in the telluri� them� as exptes�ed in indigenous mythology. He has, for example, suggested a senous remterpretatton of the symbolic deity Pacha-Mama. This interest parallels that of G. Francovich. Cf. above, Chapter IV, pp. 88-89. 76. Waldo Frank, The Re-di8cot161'!J of America (New York, 1929), p. 11. 77. Ibid., p. 15. 78. See Amauta, II (July, 1927). 79. Antenor Orrego, "i.Cuj�.l es la culture. que creara Am�rica?," A mauta, II (Sept., 1928), 14.

The

Indian, retaining his "oriental," suprarational, intuitive, tellurically skilled European;84 while the Negro will contribute aesthetic richness, the fruit of his profound eroticism. 85 Again echoing Waldo Frank, Orrego indicates that the new culture and the new human product will not be simply a combination or a mere composite, but that it will be a new and unique entity. 86 Frank's "orchestral" metaphor describing the relationship of the parts to the whole, figures significantly in the

Pueblo continente.

Typical examples of its use are seen in Orrego's

statement that each group must "discover its own melody in the vast 80. Orrego, "i,Cu!U es la culture. que creara Am�rica?," Amauta, II (April, 1928), 4. 81. Orrego, El pueblo continente, p. 55. 82. Ibid., p. 125. 83. Ibid., p. 53. 84. Ibid., pp. 55-56. 85. Ibid., pp. 165-68. 86. Ibid., p. 47.

124

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

harmony of Humanity, " and that " . . . the tonic notes of America are different from the tonic notes of Europe. . . . " 87 Although Victor Raul Haya de Ia Torre ( 1895 ) is primarily a political leader, any discussion of Spanish American radicalism must include a consideration of his contributions. As the actual founder of the APRA and as the movement's leader since its beginnings in 1924, Haya's literary production has served as an intellectual foun­ dation for his political position. As writer and thinker he is similar to Orrego in several respects. Both men were born in the provincial city of Trujillo ; and both attended the university there-the first institution of higher learning in Peru to feel the impact of Spanish America's widespread university reform movement. Both took an active interest in Leftist politics in their native city : Orrego as the founder of a radical newspaper, and Haya as a student leader. As we have seen, Haya's importance as a political leader was frequently underscored by Orrego; likewise, Haya recognizes his intellectual debt to Orrego. Though the writings of the Aprista leader are voluminous, they are; with some notable exceptions, primarily political in intent. As such these articles, speeches, letters, manifes­ tos, pamphlets, clarifications of the APRA position, etc., can only be included in an extremely broad definition of the essay. One work of Haya which does stand out as an important expres­ sion of several themes which we have been pursuing is Espacio­ Tiempo hist6rico (1948) . Actually this work is a series of more or less independent essays, the first of which was written as early as 1935. The close connection with Orrego's thought is immediately seen in the Espacio-Tiempo hist6rico in the repeated use of the term "Pueblo-continente" ("that fortunate phrase created by Antenor Orrego"Ss) to designate the distinctive cultural units upon which the essay is framed. Haya follows Orrego quite closely in that he shares an Hegelian-Marxist sensitivity to historical development, and an Orteguian appreciation of the uniqueness of each specific circunstancia. But while Orrego considers Ortega's concept of "vital reason" crucial, Haya's thought has been shaped more by the Spanish philosopher's essay, El tema de nuestro tiempo-i.e., on the implications of Einsteinian relativity. Although Haya might well have studied Einstein as early as 1918 or 1919, as Chang-Rodriguez suggests, 89 it seems logical that Ortega's provocative essay of 1923 --

87. Ibid., p. 68. . . 8S. Victor Raul Haya de Ia Torre, E.!pacio-tiempo histonco (Ltma, 1948) . p. 24. 89. Chang-Rodriguez, La literatura poUtica, p. 306.

125

had a greater impact upon the young Peruvian than did the very technical writings of Einstein himself. The fact that in May of 1923 Haya published an article in El Tiempo of Lima on some philosophical implications of relativity corroborates this view, 90 and is, moreover, another indication of Ortega's catalytic effect on Spanish American intellectual activity. 91 The chief features of Haya's position as expressed in the Espacio­ Tiempo hist6rico may be sketched out readily. Marxism, within which he places his own philosophy of history and society, must be viewed as a genuine product of its Hegelian roots, and hence subject to the "law of the negation of negation. " 92 Although conceived before the advent of the theory of relativity, Marxism must be interpreted according to twentieth-century science-Einsteinian physics, non-Euclidean geometry, the field concept, etc. : "The application of Relativity to historical determinism presents an exact case of negation and dialectical continuity in the philosophy of Marx. Moreover, the foundations of the Aprista philosophic standard are based precisely on the relativity of time and space, applied to the Marxist interpretation of history. This is the dialectical line which divides and unites orthodox Marxism and Aprismo. " 93 This specific "application" of the theory of relativity involves the development of a philosophy of history based upon an inseparable "Space-Time continuum." Haya apparently feels that this is a reality and not merely an analogy or construct. He speaks at length of a "subjective time" (not unlike the Hegelian Ich Zeit) which is conceived ·with relation to a given "geographic scenario. " Thus, a distinctive notion of time, resulting from what might be call�d the indigenous rhythm of life, will be characteristic of a particular set of environmental conditions. For example, the Andean Indian compared with a European will think of time as "slow" ; his days will be "long" and the pulse beat of his life will be sluggish, at least as viewed by the European. This conjunction of a specific geographic setting, a unique sense of time, and a corresponding individual pace of his­ torical development, characterize each "Pueblo-continente. " 94 Again borrowing from contemporary scientific thought, Haya notes that 90. Cited in ibid., pp. 306-7. Haya's article appeared on May 11, 1923. 91. In addition to Einstein, several other thinkers have helped s�pe Haya's political and historical theories. An analysis of his debt to A. S. Eddmgton, J. S. Haldane, and of course to Arnold Toynbee, could prove very valuable. 92. Haya de Ia Torre, Espacio-tiempo, p. 5. 93. Ibid., p. 7. 94. Ibid., pp. 8-9.

126

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

absolute notions of historical development are untenable ; that just

127

Haya de la Torre has suggested an interesting resolution of the

as the mathematical concept of parallel lines has been reinterpreted,

problems centered about the relationship of the Old World to the

"we must recognize that the parallelism in the development of

New.

peoples-a principle already sketched out by Marx-is also relative

Spanish American radicals could appreciate, on the one hand, their

in the vastness of history." 95 He goes on to point out that this

connections with orthodox Marxism and, on the other, the possibility

In doing so, he has provided a point of view from which

application of relativity implies that "the history of the world,

of creating an independent political philosophy grounded on American

viewed from Indo-American 'historical space-time, ' will never be

realities. Haya, however, has directed his attention more toward

what the philosopher observes from the vantage point of European

concrete political matters and the study of history than he has toward

'historical space-time. ' Likewise we hold that what is 'last' in Europe, may perhaps be 'first' in Indo-America."96 This view is applied to specifics : Haya will maintain, for example, that imperial­ ism, though looked upon by orthodox Marxists as the ultimate or supreme stage of capitalism, from the "Indoamerican" historical space-time must be considered the first stage. 97 Haya clarifies and refines his concepts in the essays which follow this 1935 statement of

Espacio-Tiempo hist6rico.

In these later

writings he takes particlllar pains to point out fundamental differen­ ces between his position and that of other thinkers whose ideas bear a superficial resemblance to his own. Thus he denies that his own view of history partakes of Spengler's fatalism, 98 or of the facile, opportunistic theorizing of Mackinder and the geopoliticians. 9 9 At least one important new element i s incorporated into his earlier exposition of historic space-time.

In the

Cuadernos Americanos

what I have called the "interior revolution.'' Although he would not consider the material revolution more important than this other revolt-his admiration for a figure such as Romain Rolland bears this out-he has not shown that almost mystical passion for a pro­ found radical humanism which one finds in Mariategui or even in the less politically oriented Alfonso Caso. His relativism notwith­ standing, the great emphasis he places upon environmental forces and his utilization of constructs drawn from the least human of disciplines-physics and mathematics-indicate that man's cre­ ativity and freedom are in fact substantially limited. In short, Haya suggests that although cultures differ in form and in rate of develop­ ment they nevertheless have a determined "unfolding" ; what the individual human being can do to shape this development seems to be limited to a minor cooperative role predicated on his awareness of the process.

This position differs from the well-known historicist

views of Vico, Spengler, and others chiefly in its denial of cycles and

restatement of the theory, written in 1 945, he notes that for a given

in its denial of a single universal pattern. That these differences

historic space-time to become effective "it must exist . . . as a vit,al

are sufficient to place Haya's thought in the mainstream of Spanish

function of its social consciousness . . . .'' This "social consciousness" is

America's reaction against scientism and determinism is clearly

in tum dependent upon the development of "the psychological

open to question.

capacity of a social group to be aware of its history and to interpret it from the vantage point of its own reality.'' 100 Although this point

intellectual radicalism existed in as intimate a relationship as they

is not expanded to any extent, it indicates a definite sensitivity to a theme that has frequently been noted in many of Haya's contem­ poraries ; the urgent need for self-knowledge as a condition for under­ standing the potentialities of the emerging New World. And here again the debt to Ortega and the recognized. 95. Ibid., p. 13. 96. Ibid. 97. Ibid. 98. Ibid., p. 20. 99. Ibid., p. 30. 100. Ibid., p. 35.

circunstancia

concept must be

In few areas of Spanish America have political radicalism and have in Peru. But even without a vehicle of concrete expression, such as that provided by the Aprista movement, radical essayists in other countries have substantially influenced thought, literature, and even mass attitudes. The kind of writers I have in mind­ Mexico's Samuel Ramos (1897-1957) , Argentina's Francisco Romero (1891-1963), or Ezequiel Martinez Estrada (1895-1964)-have dis­ tinguished themselves as men of letters rather than as politicians ; yet in that they attack the very roots of contemporary society­ what they view as the materialistic, technologically dominated world of the Western bourgeoisie-they are profoundly radical. These essayists are not Marxists in the usual sense of the term : they

128

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

conceive of the founder of socialism not simply as a political or economic theorist, but as a man of passion, fervently committed to the creation of a world dominated by distinctively human values. In a work such as Ramos'

Hacia un nuevo humanismo : Progra,ma de una antropologia filos6fica (1940) 101 this view of Marx the humanist is set forth particularly well. Again it must be made clear that Ramos is not a politician ; indeed he strongly resembles the typical

intellectuel

pur. A leader of the generation of young thinkers and writers who may be considered "the children of the

Ateneo,"

Ramos made his

intellectual debut by attacking what he then thought of as the "neo-romantic," "anti-intellectual," and "critically weak" philo­ sophic position of Antonio Caso.102 Shortly afterward he turned toward the analysis of Mexican personality; the fruit of this interest and perhaps his most fa�ous work,

Mexico (1934) ,

El perfil del hombre y la cultura en

will be examined later in the context of the very

crucial theme of the search for national essence. The Ramos work which concerns us here-grew out of certain long-standing philosophic preoccupations.

One of the most important of these-the possibility

or impossibility of grounding moral theory on an irrational view of man-formed the subject of a

1936

article/03 while an essay dealing

with the broader question of the predicament of modem human­ ism, 1 04 gives an early indication of some of the ideas to be developed in his major work of

1940.

The radical ring of the early pages of the work.

Nuevo humanismo is

apparent in the very

In support of the position that "infra­

humanity engendered by bourgeois capitalism and materialism" threatens to "petrify" values, "dehumanize" art and society, etc./05 Ramos cites a number of widely diverse thinkers. A striking example of this diversity may be seen in that he quotes the North American Sydney Hook (on the point that Marx attacked capitalism not as a utilitarian, but rather because it made men "inhuman") on the same page with a citation from the mystical national socialist Werner 101. A testimonial to the continued timeliness of Ramos' ideas is seen in the fact tho.t his Nuevo humanismo recently (1962) o.ppeo.red in o. second edition. 102. Samuel Ramos, "Antonio Co.so," Ulises, I (June, 1927), 12-20. Many years later, Ramos' attitude toward Caso became considerably less critical. See his "Antonio Caso, fil6sofo roml!.ntico," Filosofia y letras, XI (April-June, 1946), 179-96. 103. Samuel Ramos, "Sociologfa de Ia obligaci6n moral" Universidad de Mexico, 2• �poco., I (May, 1936), 26-30. 104. Samuel Ramos, "La crisis del humanismo" Universidad de Mexico, 2' �poco., IV (Aug., 1937), 1-10. 105. Samuel Ramos, Hacia un nuevo humanismo: Programa de una antropologia jilos6jica (M�xico, 1940), pp. 24-25; hereinafter cited as Nuevo humanismo.

129

Sombart (on the contemporary bourgeois spirit as showing "a com­ plete indifference toward the destiny of man" 1 06). Ramos' stated intent in this book is to "plan an itinerary" for the understanding of man "in accord with the present state of philosophical anthro­ pology." 107 The specific reference to "philosophical anthropology" clearly reflects the thought of the German philosopher Max Scheler

(1874-1928)

who, by the late thirties, had gained a very substantial

intellectual beach-head in Spanish America. 1 0 8

Considering his impact upon such major figures as Ramos, Romero, and others a brief examination of Scheler's thought is in order. Although he was not a political radical, Scheler's attempt to develop a unique axiology and his quest for "man's plaee in nature bespeak a decidedly radical personality. Scheler uses the term "spirit" to describe a distinctively human awareness of the self as an object. His term "psyche," by contrast, stands for consciousness,

and the ability for intelligent organization of the environment. All of the "higher" animals, Scheler maintains, possess a "psyche " ; but only man has "spirit," defined as the ability to "objectify" one's own self-to see one's own psyche

and the surrounding environment

from an external vantage point. On the basis of this framework Scheler constructs a philosophy of values : the individual, to the extent that his "spirit" is sufficiently developed, will be able to see the outcome of his actions in the objective world . The person in a sense becomes a god, though nothing mystical or other-worldly is implied by this term. Scheler in fact insists that man be ever mindful of the concrete effects of his acts in the real world. He further holds that the "pure values" which guide the individual are derivedJrom experience ; that they are only seen in their purity by virtue of the "spirit" ; and that they may not be completely realized in the objec­ tive world. In short, Scheler's philosophy represents an impressive attempt to establish a morality without reference to external arbiters of traditional religion or utilitarian social theories.

Scheler was not

a true radical, but rather an "outsider" ; a passionate, often prej­ udiced,

and

frequently

inconsistent

commentator

on

political

matters. 1 0 9 Yet his very radical concept of man's moral commit106. Ibid., p. 26. 107. lbid., p. 28. 108. See o.bove, Chapter IV, note 110. 109. A good explanation o.nd critique of these ideas is available Englis� readers in Hans Meyerhoff's "Translator's Introduction" to Scheler's Man s Place tn Nature (New York, 1961). For a very different and very critical analysis of Scheler see also Alfred Stem "Max Scheler fil6sofo de Ia guerra total y del esto.do totalito.rio," Minerva: Revista continental de jiloso ia, I (Jo.n.-April, 1945) .

�

i

130

131

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

ments implied a clear rejection of the role of established institutions

"spirit"). Lastly, a word regarding Ramos' application of some of

of moral suasion : church, state, etc.

these ideas to his own Mexico : he warns his countrymen that a

Thus, when Ramos says that

"genuine morality can only be evaluated by knowing what goes on within each man, in order to find out how aware he is of the end result of his activity,"11 0 his debt to the German philosopher is apparent. Although Ramos appreciated the "humanness" in Marx, he

rigorously objective order of values is possible and that to justify the modern Mexican's skepticism and

desconfianza

(distrust, sus­

picious fear) as "natural characteristics" may not be warranted. 114 To pursue this point, however, will lead directly to an important aspect of Ramos' work which will concern us later; namely, his

objected to historical materialism as a world view : " . . . historical

impressive anaylsis of Mexican character.

materialism . . . must take into consideration that economics is also merely a branch and that the trunk of the tree is man himself. . . . " 111

been quick to assimilate new and provocative philosophical positions.

This position is, and was, a virtual commonplace ; however, I suspect that what was decisive in this rejection was the Schelerian relegation of historical materialism to the category of "naturalistic" theories that fail to grasp the ,crucial relationship between "spirit" anc;I "life."112 It is clear that Ramos' view of man as an arbiter of his own morality-not by means of mystically achieved insights, not by reference to traditional religious codes, and certainly not by per­ petuating the materialistic ethic of the bourgeoisie-is distinctly radical. Here again the debt to Scheler is obvious. Both men were attempting to walk the narrow path between what Scheler calls the "naturalistic" philosophies and those of the "classical" Greek and Judeo-Christian traditions, which stressed "untenable" notions of the self-generative power of Ideas, the Godhead, etc.113 Both writers strive to establish "pure," unchanging, values such as justice, heroism, and charity. These would not be subject to individual whims, and yet they would not be "derived" theologically or in any other manner except by the process of human self-awareness (i.e., by the Schelerian 110. Ramos, Ntu!Vo humanismo, p. 103. Several other thinkers, whose work is closely related to Scheler's, also figure prominently in the Nuevo humanismo. Ludwig

Klages' philosophy of personalism, Nicolai Hartmann's work on the problem of liberty, as well as more familiar thought of Bergson and Ortega, all contribute to Ramos' synthesis. A detailed critique of the manner in which the Mexican thinker utilizes these varied sources would be beyond the scope of this study; a few points, however, may be made. Ramos views the Bergsonian "intuition" as a method of getting into "direct contact with real things." As such he feels that it parallels the "primitive ll'aivete" which the phenomenologists stress as !he approach to reality. He thus links Bergson with at least one expression of the emerging Existentialist movement. As so often happens in Spanish American thought of this period, the Orteguian concepts of the "circumstance" and of "perspectivism" are, in general, accepted. If we were to plunge more deeply into Ramos' thought, certain antitheses may be seen: for example, the question might be raised as to the possibility of his accepting on the one hand Ortega's fundamental vitalism and, on the other, Scheler's unique concept of "Spirit." 111. Ramos, Nuevo humanismo, p. 148. 112. Scheler, Man's Place in Nature, pp. 81-83. 113. See Scheler's chapter on "Philosophical Anthropology and Religion," ibid., pp. 88-95.

Argentine intellectuals, like their Mexican counterparts, have Their introduction to Scheler's thought was, as in the Mexicans'

Revista de Occidente Die Stellung des Menschen im Kosmos (Man's Place in Nature, 1928). Scheler's ideas soon case, through a series of translations in Ortega's

and through the Spanish translation of

appeared in the works of several important Argentine essayists and philosophers : Carlos Astrada, Carlos Alberto Erro, and most notably in the writings of Francisco Romero

(1891-1962).

A distinguished

disciple of Alejandro Korn, the dean of contemporary Argentine philosophers, Romero parallels Samuel Ramos to a considerable degree.

Much of his

Filosofia de la persona (1938)

is simply a

sympathetic exposition of the basic Schelerian position, which is viewed as a valuable check on the extremely voluntaristic, irrational philosophy of the Nietzschean tradition. The same desire for "objective," "pure" values-yet ones which would be derived by man "to the extent that he is a spiritual being"-is evident in both Romero and Ramos. And like his Mexican contemporary, Romero sees an analogy in Ortega's concept of the

circunstancia and

unique view of the world which "spirit" provides.

Scheler's

Other thinkers

of Schelerian orientation-Nicolai Hartmann and especially Ludwig Klages-fascinated Romero as they did Ramos. Klages' distinction between "individual"

and "person," based upon an intriguing

etymological study of the latter term,115 was especially appealing to the Argentine thinker. However Romero, perhaps even more than Ramos, is a philosophical rather than a literary essayist. While he shared with many of the writers discussed a desire to assert radically 114. Ramos, Nuevo humanismo, p. 88. 115. 'Persona' is analyzed in its Latin derivation from per sonare, i.e., 'to sound through,' as a god's voice coming through a classic mask. Thus, 'the person' in one sense is thought of as a mask through which a universal 'spirit'-the absolute Ground of Being, Scheler might say-expresses itself. Opposed to man qua person is man qua "individual" with all his volitions, individual desires, material wants, etc.

132

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

humanistic values, his place in the present study must be considered peripheral. By contrast, Romero's compatriot and contemporary, Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, was a literary essayist of major proportions. Though he was not a philosopher, his writing reflects a strong philo­ sophical bent. His essays are written with passion and poetry ; if Martinez Estrada was a philosopher in any sense, he belonged with the pensadores ag6nicos of the modern world, with Kierkegaard or with Unamuno, though one writer has suggested G. B . Shaw as a fitting soul-mate. Martinez Estrada's radicalism is of great interest. Much of the idealistic, irrational, anarchic, profoundly human, and profoundly humane thought of the essayists we have been studying is summed up in his writings. Though no respecter of political doctrine, Martinez Estrada has nonetheless frequently espoused the extreme Left, and his critique of everything implied by the word "bourgeois' ; has been unceasingly vitriolic : yet he can be quite sensitive to the spiritual and aesthetic inadequacies of the Marxist world as it actually exists.116 An early admirer of the Castro government, he was awarded a literary prize by the Cuban Casa de las Americas in 1960.117 At approximately the same time he was being roundly attacked by many of Argentina's young Communists for his "anarchistic lean­ ings," and for his denunciation of all dictatorial regimes without taking into consideration "the social content of dictatorships and . . . their future rather than just their present form. . . . "118 The usual presentation of Martinez Estrada's career begins by noting that he made his literary debut as a poet in the 1920's, and that his own feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction with his verse made him turn to the essay as a vehicle of expression in the early 1930's.119 A slightly different version of his development stresses the fact that the political and economic debacle of 1930 jarred him-as well as other Argentine writers-into an attitude of critical circumspection. One writer carries this view to the point of saying that the Martinez Estrada of the early thirties was simply "an Argentine intellectual, of the middle class, terrorized by the 116. See Martfnez Estrada's account of his experiences at the University of Moscow in his "Lo real y el realismo," Cuadernos Americanos, XVII (July-Oct., 1958), 258-64. 117. A portion of Martinez Estrada's prize-winning essay "An:Uisis funcional de la cutura" appeared in the Cuban periodical Lu7168 de RevoluciOn, No. 47 (Feb. 15 1960) pp. 3-5. I have not been able to ascertain whether the complete essay was �ctuall published. 118. J. J. Sebreli Martinez Estrada una rebelion inutil (Buenos Aires, 1960), pp. 77. 119. Hector A. Murena, El pecado original de Am.lrica (Buenos Aires, 1958), p. 122.

y

133

economic crisis, disillusioned and skeptical. . . . "120 His prose from then on, so this theory holds, continues to reflect this terror and this .disillusionment. It is true that Martinez Estrada's major essays, Radiografia de la Pampa (1933), Cabeza de Goliat (1940) , Muerte y transfiguraci6n de Martin Fierro (1948), Exhortaciones (19.5 7), and others, reflect a sense of futility, of disenchantment, and often of extreme pessimism. It is quite understandable that Argentina's political and economic crisis of the early thirties lies behind the gloomy tonality of Martinez Estrada's essays : it is also conceivable that his feelings of insufficiency as a poet contributed to the over­ riding pessimism of his prose. However, Martinez Estrada's com­ mentators have not given due attention to what must be thought of as the man's "raw," unmodified personality. This bedrock of Martinez Estrada's character is best seen in his very first works, a series of articles appearing in the well-known review Nosotros, and written before their author gained recognition as a poet. Neither Murena nor Sebreli, nor any other interpreter of Estrada, mentions these revealing early essays, though they go far toward providing the key to his entire career as an essayist. The first of these pieces, "Hidden Treasures," dates from October of 1917. In it, the twenty-two-year-old Estrada takes a Pascalian, sentimental tack in criticizing rationalism, and the systematizing of life. He speaks in very general terms : "Are not our errors the results of having wished, by means of reason, to turn aside the course of events?"121 Shortly afterward, he simply asks "And just what purpose does systematizing serve?"122 He then discusses various forms of antirationalism : he writes of Schopenhauer, of Maetet'linck, and especially of love in almost mystic terms. Eros-broadly con­ ceived-redeems and enlightens. Woman is thought of virtually in a redemptive role ; and poetic creation, always viewed as an erotic process, yields very special insights : "I believe the poets are right. They live closer to facts, to things. . . . "123 These attitudes are not particularly unique for the second decade of the twentieth century; indeed Martinez Estrada was apparently responding in a predictable manner to typical ideas of the times. In terms of his own literary trajectory, however, the essay is quite significant, for the seeds of his 120. Sebreli, Martinez Estrada, p. 21. 121. Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, "Tesoros velados," Nosotros, XI (Oct., 1917) , 193. 122. Ibid., p. 194. 123. Ibid.

134

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

future anguish are clearly observed virtually at the moment of their germination. The second of the

Nosotros

articles, "The Stimulus to go on

Living" (December, 1917) is unquestionably the most crucial of the

135

Estrada's heroes are, in a word, underdogs. Whether he is de­ scribing the long-vanished figure of the nineteenth-century gaucho, as in the Radiografia and the Muerte y transfiguraci6n, or the pathetic, tortured soul of a Simone Weil, as in

Exhortaciones,

this commitment

series. He introduces his theme by citing Pascal on the relatively

to the martyr, the scapegoat, the defeated is everywhere in evidence.

greater pleasures of anticipation as compared with those of realization.

Further corroboration of this fundamental attitude may be seen in

He then relates, in a simple and yet poetic style, an old folk tale. A child strays into the forest seeking delicious fruit and finally dis­

his sympathy for the French idealist Charles Peguy, killed in World War I ; for Waldo Frank, virtually an outcast in his own country ;

covers that the anticipated morsel has turned to stone. The lad

and for whatever group may be occupying the base of the social

then hears reports of fantastically beautiful birds in the forest ; he

pyramid-the pariahs, the North American Negro, the "Chandala

eagerly hunts them and when he is about to capture his prey, the

class, " etc.125 Martinez Estrada's love of the underdog is under­

birds are miraculously changed into a handful of unattractive

scored in his feelings toward children and animals. These sentiments

feathers. The young writer then meditates on the role of anticipation

have no doubt been strengthened by two facts.

and hope in our lives :

that for a portion of his life he worked as a postal employee, occupy­

And above all these minor, simple, daily hopes, let us very deliberately hold fast to a much greater one, and let this hope · be above and beyond all others . . . like an impossible dragon in a remote and unkuown land. And may the only path which might guide us to it be discovered only when the clock of our life is about to strike the final hour. . . . 124

The first of these is

ing a routine position on the lower levels of a typically stultifying bureaucracy. The second is the simple fact that, though married, Martinez Estrada was childless. When one reads his defense of birds (he kept many as house pets) , his glowing evocations of Argentine wild life, and his fervent condemnation of prisons and penal prac­ tice, 12 6 the picture of the postal worker "imprisoned" behind his

Much of what Martinez Estrada will say in the future flows logically

barred window is immediately suggested. The discussion of children

from this attitude.

in

The seed which we saw germinate earlier has

Exhortaciones

and elsewhere reveals another aspect of Martinez

now sprouted and taken root ; it will only be a matter of time until

Estrada's cult of nature. In a sentimental tone suggestive of a

the bitter fruit of his pessimism will ripen. For a person of Estrada's

Rousseau, he decries our callousness in not heeding the "message"

psychological make-up, it is the striving, the seeking-not the

of children. Martinez Estrada believes that in our desire to in­

I think that it is precisely

doctrinate, we deform and corrupt our children, and most important,

this attitude which defines Martinez Estrada's concept of that which

we miss the opportunity to receive the mystic communication of nature which they bear.12 7 The burden of Martinez Estrada's

achievement-which is all important.

is characteristically human : man is the being that strives. Carrying appreciate why Martinez

message and the crux of his radicalism lie precisely in this polarity of

Estrada will often react sharply against success-successful people,

this view somewhat further, we can

nature and civilization. His underdogs are with few exceptions

successful movements,

successful cities,

successful nations,

etc.

Whether this attitude is justified in specific cases need not concern us here ; the fact remains that it defines the man's relationship to the world and even more important, to himself. How well even the very title of Sebreli's critical essay,

Martinez Estrada, A Useless Revolt (Martinez Estrada, Una rebeli6n inutil), is thus refuted ! What matters is that he has rebelled ; his success or failure is, at least in terms of his own values and psychological make-up, quite beside the point. 124. Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, "El estfmulo de vivir, " Nosotros, XI (Dec., 1917), 466.

"naturally good" beings destroyed or corrupted by what he con­ siders to be the unnatural institutions of modem civilization. duced to this bare scheme, his position is remarkably simple.

Re­ It is,

of course, quite unoriginal ; its antecedents may be traced back through Rousseau, Las Casas, and earlier. Among more recent writers, there is a good deal of this kind of primitivism in the North 125. Martinez Estrada's ideas on what he terms "closed" societies and on the pyramid-like form of such societies are well expressed in his article, "El complejo Chandala," Cuadernos Americanos, IX (Jan.-Feb., 1950) , 116-29. 126. These themes are treated extensively and poetically throughout Martinez Estrada's Cabeza de Goliat (Buenos Aires, 1940). 127. Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, Exhortaciones (Buenos Aires, 1957), p. 36.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

American Waldo Frank and in Henry David Thoreau-two writers for whom Martinez Estrada expresses high regard.128 But simple ideas in the hands of talented writers acquire unusual impact. H. A. Murena (1924--), one of the most brilliant young essayists writing in Argentina today, gives us some idea of this impact in the case of Martinez Estrada. In his provocative essay, El pecado original de America (1958), Murena describes the cultural ethos of the Argentina of the 1940's in dr11matic terms : "The air we were breathing was stale and dead, and when we thought that this might be the definitive atmosphere, a paralyzing anguish would attack us."129 Those familiar with Argentine writing of the period will appreciate the accuracy of Murena's characterization : not only is this feeling of inertia and disorientation seen in Martinez Estrada himself but in a number of other important authors-Eduardo Mallea being perhaps the most notable example. Murena claims that his "discovery" of Estrada gave him, and many of his generation, nothing less than a "spiritual rebirth" : "He utilized the virus, the very pus, to vaccinaM, to cure. . . . This fact explains why there is an abyss between the works of Martinez Estrada and those that came before . . . . Sarmiento . . . Alberdi . . . Marti . . . Echeverria . . . Ingenieros . . . were men who would hit upon a truth once a week, a bit by chance, whereas Martinez Estrada holds fast to truth every moment, unceasingly. . . . "130 But what exactly is this great truth, or more precisely, this "virus" which Martinez Estrada isolates and then utilizes in his therapy? The essence of Martinez Estrada's message, Murena feels, is that the people of the New World are in a very real sense, another "pariah," or "outcast" group; "we are the most wretched of the wretched, we are the dispossessed. . . . "131 Moreover, a careful analysis of American life reveals many subter­ fuges which the inhabitant of the New World has employed to avoid facing this unpleasant truth. Some typical examples of these masks would be the cult of gross materialism and of false erudition. Mar­ tinez Estrada implies that if men would accept the utter wretchedness of their essential nature, they would be much the better for it. But

they refused to do so, and hence their misery is compounded by the resulting estrangement from reality. Terms such as anguish, solitude, dispossession, and alienation­ typical of those who write on the periphery of existential thought -are often used by Martinez Estrada to characterize the human condition in general and the Spanish American condition in particular. However, when he describes the Gaucho, and by extension the entire continent's poor, rural, mestizo class, he prefers to write of a deep­ seated feeling of orfandad (orphanage) which he places at the root of this group's psychology. His brilliant analysis of the hijo humillado (humiliated child) complex in the Radiografta de la Pampa rests upon the idea that the Gaucho is the illegitimate son of the Euro­ pean conqueror and the violated Indian woman.132 The forces that constantly take advantage of the Gaucho-the archetypal hijo humillado of the New World-are those of the city, of the central authority. In a sense they are the projection of the European conqueror's appetites ; viewed psychoanalytically, they of course represent the father image. Buenos Aires, the swollen encephalitic "Head of Goliath" which Martinez Estrada so poetically berates in his essay of the same name, stands for all that is corrupting, hateful, and authoritarian; as such, it too is metaphorically a father figure. The city with its rationality, its law and order, its administrative machinery, etc., further aggravates man's "dispossession"-his isolation from the natural realm, the source of his goodness and his vitality. The city not only corrupts the country, towards which it extends its lines of communication "like the tentacles of an octopus,"133 but it also keeps its own population virtually imprisoned: " . . . we are prisoners, though our keeper has disappeared years or centu�ies ago. He locked us all up and then went away or died . . . . "134 Martinez Estrada's attitude toward the city can legitimately be taken to represent his over-all view of modern civilization. As such, it reveals a great deal about his radicalism. On the first page of the Cabeza de Goliat he cites a letter of Rainer Maria Rilke in which the poet, writing from Paris, describes a large city as "a thing against nature" ; while in the early pages of his 1957 essay, Exhortaciones, he speaks of his countrymen as not having "roots in the land. "135 A

136

128. On Frank, see Martfnez Estrada, see Cabeza de Goliat, pp. 174-75. Regarding Thoreau anrl other nature writers see Cabeza de Goliat, pp. 55-56. 129. H. A. Murena, El pecado original de Amerir_a (Buenos Aires, 1958), p. 113. Another good discussion of Martfnez Estrada's relationship to the younger generation of Argentine writers appears in E. Rodriguez Monegal's El juicio de los parricidas (Buenos Aires, 1956), pp. 15-28. 130. Murena, El pecado original, p. 123. 131 . Ibid., p. 115.

137

132. Ezequiel Martfnez Estrads, Radiografia de la Pampa (Buenos Aires, 1933), p. 88. The same concept of the hijo humillado figures prominently in his later work, the Muerte y transfiguraei6n de Martin Fierro (Mexico, 1948). 133. Martfnez Estrada, Cabeza de Goliat, pp. 37-38. 134. Ibid., p. 50. 135. Martfnez Estrada, Exhortaciones, p. 28.

138

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The New Humanism and the Left

mystique of the land-not unlike that found in several of his Spanish American contemporaries-complements his critique society and of the city.

of modem

The folk, those who live in intimate contact

with the land, have great reserves of "force" (juerza) ; while the "rulers"-read Buenos Aires and its provincial "tentacles"-have only "power" (poder) , equated with that which is imposed and that which is "unnatural." 136 Aside from the telluric basis of the people's "force," Martinez Estrada holds to a belief in the "natural soli­ darity" of humanity which, he feels, further strengthens uncorrupted man. 137 There is, however, in a number of Martinez Estrada's works, the idea that the land exercises a malevolent influence upon man as well as a beneficent one. At times the land, the realm of nature, is a "paradise lost" ; at times it is a fearful and destructive

adversary. 13 8 This polarity may be explained in several ways. We may say that this apparent malevolence arises from the fact that "civilized" man is so alienated from nature that he is incapable of

appreciating his relationship to it, and hence he fears it. We may also look upon this polarity as an example of Martinez Estrada's dialectical method : the land, as the place where life germinates

and

the place to which we return as dust, represents both life and death. Like the mother image (with which the land is inextricably linked) the natural realm gives rise to rich ambivalences : attraction, re­ pulsion, love-hate, and most of all, life-death. The highest reality, accepting for the while the validity of the dialectical approach,

hated

Peronistas.141

139

He finds support for this view in Marx and in

Simone Weil, both of whom he cites to the effect that "where political parties exist, democracy has died."142 Politics, written constitutions, the structure of the modern state itself, are all immoral, unnatural, and inhuman : "He who loves politics hates morality" is his essential view.

"A written constitution, even if it were technically perfect,

is not what is needed today with as much urgency as the moral re­ constitution of the people. . . . "14S Sebreli, citing a passage from the essay

Cuadrante del pampero

("Every state, therefore, still assumes,

as originally, the characteristics of a government of occupation"), argues that Estrada views any state as an "alien body" in "natural" society.144 Sebreli's observation, incidentally, helps explain many of Martinez Estrada's specific political attitudes, such as the coolness he maintained even to the post-Peron governments of Argentina. In a word, the epithet of "anarchist" with which his critics have attacked him is not completely inapplicable. That this "anarchism" is grounded upon a very sympathetic humanism and is not of the bomb-throwing

sort,

however,

must

be made clear.

Martinez

Estrada's radicalism does not aim at inciting mobs to riot ; rather it aims at encouraging the individual to cleanse himself of civilization's corruption, to permit that innate goodness-in which Estrada so des­ perately believes-to come to the fore. As his disciple, H. A. Murena eloquently states, "Martinez Estrada signifies the resurgence of the American conscience."145 Martinez Estrada is a revolutionary who

results from the interaction of these apparent opposites rather than

can say of the masses (it should be pointed out that he is speaking of

from the choice of one over the other. It is in this manner, that

Argentina here) : "They do not want bread, because they already

Martinez Estrada's telluricism is best appreciated.

have what is necessary and they are fed up.

Given Martinez Estrada's belief in human solidarity as a "natural" phenomenon and in what he calls "innate qualities of sociability," 13 9

not for bread. They are hungry for honor, for love, for cordial treatment, for human consideration . . . . "146 Martinez Estrada, like

his attitude towards existing political institutions makes a good deal

so many other contemporary radicals of Spanish America, is repelled

They are hungry, but

of sense. Political parties, he states, are inherently bad for the

by any society, capitalist or Marxist, wherein the ordering of life

democracy. 140 In the specific context of

for material ends relegates man to the position of a cog in a rationally

establishment of true

Argentina, he notes that the

institution of the

party, with its natural

tendency to work for the self-interest of restricted groups represents a greater evil than that posed by any one particular party, even the

136. Ibid., pp. 8ft 137. Ibid., p. Zl. 138. In the RadioqrafW. de la Pampa he states sif!1ply, "Ia �e"'!- es Ia muerte," p. 16.

Compare Sebreli's treatment of the nature ambivalence pp. 61-71. 139. Martfnez Estrada, Exhortacione8, p. 27. 140. Ibid., pp. 15fT.

m

his Martinez Estrada,

conceived

machine. An apparently insignificant

episode

which

occurred during his visit to the Soviet Union bears this out clearly. Speaking before students at Moscow University on the theme of the absurd in contemporary literature, Estrada went to considerable

141. Ibid., pp. 16-18. 142. Ibid., pp. 20-21. 143. Ibid., p. 76. 144. Sebreli, Martinez Estrada, pp. 73-74. 145. Murena, El peeado original, p. 123. 146. Martfnez Estrada, Exhortacione8, p. 7.

140

The New Human£sm and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

length in pointing out the profound humanism of one of his very favorite authors, the novelist Kafka.

Not only were the Soviet

students unable to understand what he termed the "World of Kafka," but also the very fact that "unrealistic, " "disinterested" artistic creation could be considered a legitimate human activity was utterly incomprehensible to them. 14 7 Estrada does not use this incident as a point of departure for an overt attack upon the Soviet

141

In such a society, political activity as we know it, national states, militarism, and war would simply become curious and primitive institutions of an earlier and less human epoch. Practical men of widely divergent political beliefs will see all this as a fantastic pipe-dream. Martinez Estrada has been called many things-a self-appointed prophet,1 61 a pessimistic determinist/ 52 and an impractical "petty bourgeois anarchist."1 53 One must agree that

state, but his obviou3 disappointment with her youth and with her

his politics are fuzzy, his economics anachronistic, and his view of

values is readily apparent.

human nature sentimental. But one must also recognize the fact

It is easier to discuss Martinez Estrada's critique of society than

that he is neither a politician nor an economist nor even a philosopher.

it is to describe the kind of a world which he might wish to see

He is simply a human being, caught in the web of contemporary tech­

established. Certainly neither the present Soviet state, nor North America,l4 8 nor Argentina, represent to any degree the type of society

nological society, who has felt it necessary to proclaim that something

that he envisions.

and "impractical" in that it warns us not to continue in our present

On rare occasions he gives us an inkling of t�e

socio-economic order to which he might subscribe. In

Exhortaciones

he speaks fondly of "cooperatives," of gremios (a kind of Medieval craft-guild), and of "syndicates." 149 A picture of decentralized,

is radically wrong with the modem world. His message is negative ways.

It is in this context that we must consider Murena's view of

Martinez Estrada as the embodiment of the "American conscience. "

independent, self-govetning communities-not unlike those proposed

Estrada's critics would d o well t o ponder this point, for w e are on dangerous ground when we demand too much practicality of our

by Bakunin or perhaps even by William Morris-is immediately

conscience.164

brought to mind.

Certainly the "shape" of modern society-the

The writers under discussion share many similar viewpoints.

hated "pyramid" with its huge "outcast" groups at the base-would

What is perhaps their most striking common denominator is their

have to be changed. Human relationships would be characterized

rejection of political orthodoxy, be it of the "bourgeois" or Marxist

by altruism, "the giving of oneself" and a deep mutual under­

camp. Underlying this rejection is the conviction that human

standing. The proper relationship of man to the products of land and

existence requires redefinition and that such redefinition must not

factory would be restored.

Man would once again be considered the

take as its point of departure the realm of the political. A corollary

usufructuary, the beneficiary of his material bounty. He would

of this view is that a mere change in the. form of economic and govern­

not be the "obligatory consumer" of modem North America, where

mental organization will not achieve this objective.

"the demands of the market can determine that at one moment a

much of the revolutionary ideology of these essayists is grounded

It follows·-that

Buick must be put into use, and at another moment that the atomic

upon an emotive, a nonmaterialistic, and often an antimaterialistic

bomb be put into use-and all this with the same ignorance of the true objectives of this forced consumption."1 60 Above all, the

appeal. Thus Mariategui's thought will be strongly colored by the

Estradian Utopia-for it would be just that-would contain no

anthropology a new method of determining "man's place in nature"

minorities, no underdogs, no pariahs. These words would in effect

and his moral obligations ; and Martinez Estrada will once again state

lose all meaning. Creatures of nature-domestic animals, birds,

the case for modem man's return to the natural realm of benign

and children-would go about unharmed, loved, and respected.

innocence.

147. See note 116 above. 148. See his interesting but bitter reply to Mary McCarthy's eulogy of the United States, "America the Beautiful," which appeared originally in Commentary and was reprinted in translation in the Argentine journal Sur (Nov.-Dec., 1950), pp. 146-55. Martfnez Estrada's essay, "Norteamerica la hacendosa," appears in the same issue, pp. 156-59. 149. Martfnez Estrada, Exhortaciones, p. 29. 150. Mart{nez Estrada, "Norteamerica la hacendosa," p. 159.

151. See the critique by Jorge Luis Borges, "Una efusi6n de E. Martfnez Estrada," Sur (Sept.-Oct., 1956), pp. 52-53. The article is in answer to Estrada's criticisms of Borges' lack of real anti-Per6n sentiments. 152. Sebreli, Martinez Errtrada, pp. 37-47. 153. Ibid., p. 80. 154. Martinez Estrada continued to see in the Castro regime the possibility of a genuine Utopia. See his curious historical essay, "El nuevo mundo, la isla de Utopfa y Ia isla de Cuba," Cuadernos Americanos (March-April, 1963), pp. 89-122.

"mystique of the Revolution"; Ramos will seek in philosophical

The foreign writers who have done most to shape the

142

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

radicalism of the group are clearly those who have either deviated from the orthodoxy of the Third International, or who represent

quite individual approaches to radicalism : thinkers such as Romain Rolland, Nicolas Berdyaev, Max Scheler, Waldo Frank, and Simone Weil. When Marx himself appeals to these writers it is as the romantic humanitarian of the 1840's rather than as the older, more cynical author of Das Kapital. The leitmotif running through the works of virtually all these essayists is the idea that man's transformation must be brought about by a profound liberation. He must be liberated from an animal-like existence stemming from the constant

pressure to satisfy his material needs. He must be liberated from considering himself a mere pawn in a great game of gods or heroes;

and he must be likewise liberated from considering himself and his

fellows as "things"-ae objects subject to the "rational" laws of. a mechanistic universe. It is with these terms, rather than with those of the existing political vocabulary, that Spanish America's radical

143

pla�e for the genesis of such a movement.155 One cannot help won­ denng whether the youthful Fidel Castro, then completing his law studies at the University, was among those present. The current dilemma of the Spanish American radical has been stated with great force and eloquence by Estrada's disciple, H.A. M�rena, in a well-wrought essay, "El estridor del confonnismo," whiCh appeared not long ago in the review, Cuadernos. I shall not attempt to summarize all that Murena says in this tightly packed piece ; a few substantial citations will give the spirit of the essay. Murena first describes what might be called the "soldier of humanity" forced to "take sides" in the contemporary ideological struggle. Noting the wide gap which exists between propagandistic claims and actual fact, he feels obliged to choose between the two warring camps, to venture into no man's land. He therefore investigates the claims made by both sides and, more important, the nature of propaganda itself :

or" posed by the Cold War. An interesting statement of this atti­

Within this imagined "no man's land" of the person who has no� been convinced by �ither of the two vociferous ideologies whiCh have been saturatmg the world's atmosphere, one notic3s that after all, both sides are propagandistic. And propaganda -and by now this must be said openly-is essentially negative. For propaganda consists of a malignant exploitation-be this done consciously or unconsciously-of man's "openness" to the world, of that capacity for love which makes communication possible. It is evil since it opposes communication and to this extent, it is contrary to the Revolution, to all revoiution. The R�volution which, under many different names has inspired . . . Wishes to free man from the myths that oppress him in order that he may exist in his fullness. The Revolution wishes man· to become once again completely his own master, while propaganda seeks to take full control of him. Propaganda proposes to change man, to alienate him from himself. Though it claims to be promoting the Revolution or defending liberty, its real effect is to paralyze man, to possess him, and enslave him.1 56

speech at the University of Havana in the Spring of 1950. Speaking

(lo religioso) in contrast with historical manifestations of religion:

humanism must be described. There are, of course, many orthodox Communists in Spanish America; and some of these, though not included in the present study, have some stature as writers.

However, the heterodox

radicalism which we have been analyzing is, I think, dominant. This is so for two reasons. The qualities of dignidad (dignity, self­ respect) , of individualism, even of anarchism which characterize

the works of these essayists are rooted deep in the bedrock of His­ panic tradition. And secondly, the awareness of a unique American

destiny-inherent in virtually all the writers discussed above-makes it incumbent upon them to seek a more flexible, more adaptable ideological framework upon which to build their own theories and

practical programs. Thus Spanish American radicals have shown an

ever-increasing desire to find a "third way" and to reject the "either­ tude was formulated for Hispanic America by Waldo Frank in a

at a meeting of the Leftist Conferencia interamericana "Prodemocracia y

libertad," he attacked both the United States and the Soviets for

their "dehumanizing" tendencies, for their deliberate "manipulation"

of human bPings. Professing little faith in existing political groups,

Frank proclaimed that only a movement "more radical than Com­

munism" could bring about the true revolution. Of particular significance, he restated his belief that Spanish America was the ideal

Murena next presents a very striking analysis of religious essence

"Life is movement. It is history, which must flow continually . . . . Full participation in this movement is the unchanging essence of religion-which should not be confused with specific, ephemeral religious organizations that eventually take hold of this essence, 155. Waldo Frank, "Necesitamos crear un mundo nuevo." . Cuadernos Americmws IX (July-Aug., 1950), 40-47. 156. H. A. Murena, "El estridor del conformismo," Cuaderncs, No. 69 (May, 1960), '

p. 20 .

·

144

The New Humanism and the Left

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

codify it, embody it truthfully for a brief moment, and then become empty, leaving as the only sign of the religious essence having passed through their body, a certain stiffness of the joints . . . . "157 Murena consistently equates the fullness of life, authentic human existence, with movement and "flow." By contrast our concern for material goods-for the possession of worldly things-impedes this flow and is, in Murena's terms, essentially antireligious.

His dis­

cussion of Marxism in this context is extremely interesting: Compared with capitalism, Marxism is-in an ideal sense-a religious movement, since in that it has come to fight against the retention of material goods, it works towards movement in life. This is the basis for our affirming that in the new society which will come forth from the "cold war" . . . Marxist char­ acteristics will predominate. Nevertheless, there is another characteristic of Marxism that permits us to affirm that it can- _ not be the victor. For though it is religious to the extent that it proposes the non-retention of property, it uses violence to impede this possession. And in using violence, Marxism retains coercive power. This means that it goes against life, and is thus anti-religious to a greater extent than is capitalism. 15 8 Working toward the conclusion of his thesis Murena restates the problem faced by "the soldier of humanity" in the present crisis : "He who would fight for the sake of Revolution in this day knows

that the ground on which he must stand is as narrow as the razor's edge.

It is the no man's land in which the combatant, labeled by

both sides as defeatest and traitor, is condemned to death. " 1 5 9 But

Murena does not feel that his symbolic soldier is completely aban­ doned : "Surely, if his ear is attuned, he will eventually hear a voice that will soothe his soul and encourage him to bear up under a situation which doubtlessly is beyond his own strength and ca­ pacities. It is a voice which comes to him from a far-off age, and which, as a proof of its validity, has made the j ourney without

aid of Churches, National states, political parties, or sects. " 1 60 This voice, Murena feels, arises from one of the greatest sources of all uncompromising humanism : it is the voice of the condemned Socrates, the corrupter of youth.

Paraphrasing the philosopher's advice to

the young people of ancient Athens, Murena writes : "leaving aside those things which the majority holds most dear--money, a home,

157. Ibid p. 22. 158. Ibid. 159. Ibid., p. 23. 160. Ibid., pp. 23-24. .,

145

political power and leadership-I shall try to convince each one of you to be concerned with yourself rather than with your material interests, in order that you may become better and wiser." 161 The shallowness of many of the terms currently employed to characterize radicalism in Spanish America should now become evident. A negative label-such as the "non-Communist Left" really does not define a great deal ; it leads one to assume, moreover, that those who are "non-Communists" necessarily favor our own political and economic institutions. At least with regard to the intel­ lectuals-and the substantial force that Spanish American intel­ lectuals exert among the continent's directive classes must again be underscored-this assumption is often invalid.

Our inability to find

a satisfactory term to define the Castro movement,-at least as it existed during its first year, is a further illustration of the inadequacy of contemporary political vocabulary. Interestingly enough, during the early years the Cubans themselves were hard put to find the right word to describe their embryonic new order.

In the light of

the foregoing analysis Castro's repeated use of the term

humanismo

to designate his regime's admittedly ill-defined philosophic position acquires

considerable

significance. Our

examination

of

radical

humanism was undertaken in an attempt to focus upon one aspect of what in an earlier chapter was called the rediscovery of America. The men whose work has just been discussed are all passionately concerned with discovering the New World's mission, her destiny,

her reason for being.

The instruments with which they have attacked

these matters have led them from the realm of economic and political institutions toward a consideration of man himself. At about the same time other writers were also changing their intellectual focus. The broadly conceived, rather generalized Americanism of the early decades of the century gradually gives way to an interest in national character which in tum leads to an intense analysis of the individual and his immediate

circunstancia.

New viewpoints, existentialism in

particular, come forth to provide fresh answers to old problems. The Spanish American essay of most recent years shows a growing preoccupation with basic questions of human definitions, with what Murena might term the Socratic concern for the self, and with what we shall call the "Search for Essence."

161. Ibid p. 24. .,

147

Argentina's Quest for Identity

Medina or Antenor Orrego was closely linked with the desire to discover the essential nature of Bolivians and Peruvians.

In Argen­

tina, this interest may be traced back to Sarmiento or even earlier,

V I/ ARGENTINA'S Q UEST F O R I D E N T ITY

though it is particularly evident in the work of the "Generation of the Centenary," an important group of writers who appear during the first decade of the present century. Ricardo Rojas, though certainly vulnerable to much criticism, is for our purposes the most significant essayist of this generation. A prolific writer, his works were widely read and unquestionably influential. Admittedly he was wordy, intellectually diffuse, often jingoistic, and particularly prone toward selecting the least satisfactory terminology to express his ideas.2 The fact remains that Rojas popularized the term

argen­

tinidad-chronologically the first of many similar words which were to appear in other Spanish American countries-and that the Argen­ THE REDISCOVERY OF AMERICA, THE DESIRE TO CLARIFY

the position of New World culture with respect to the Old, and the

tine essayists who began to write in the twenties and thirties took him as a fixed point upon which to orient their own work.

However

attempt to probe the relationship of the individual to his environ­

more often than not, these essayists-Carlos Alberto Erro (1899

ment are aspects of the ever-increasing passion for self-definition

Eduardo Mallea (1903--) , Jorge Luis Borges (1899

characteristic of the contemporary essay of Spanish America.

recent decades a gradual refinement in the techniques by which

Canal Feij6o (1897--) , and others-reject a good deal of what Rojas set forth in such works as La restauraci6n nacionalista (1909) ,

writers approach the problem of self-definition has become dramati­

Blas6n de plata (1912), La argentinidad (1916),

cally evident.

In

Many writers shift their interest from broadly

Americanist considerations to a more restricted analysis of the national ethos : hence the essays dealing with

canidad," "peruanidad,"

etc.l

"argentinidad," "mexi­

Narrowing their focus even more,

some writers look to the microcosm of the individual in their search

), ) , Bernardo --

--

and

Eurindia (1924) .

In virtually all of these essays Rojas develops an unsophisticated dualism of

exotismo

("exoticism") versus

indianismo

("lndianism") .

The same opposing terms are employed in organizing the material for his well-known

Historia de la literatura argentina (1921) .

One

must agree with the critic Zum Felde that Rojas' contribution to the

for essence. Armed with the potent weapons of psychoanalysis and

analysis of Argentine culture has been limited. When he relegates

existentialism they have placed the traditional Spanish American

all that has emanated from Europe to the "exotic," Rojas dodges

polarity of universalism versus nativism in fresh perspective. Signi­ ficantly, the work of the most advanced of these writers suggests that the very positing of this polarity is pointless. Finally, the essay itself responds to the changing character of its content and to the aesthetics of its cultivators. As a result, the genre in the hands of writers such as Ezequiel Martinez Estrada or Octavio Paz may well be considered to have undergone a fundamental transformation. We have already touched upon some attempts to define the national character or essence : for example, the indigenism of Diez de 1. The suffix "dad" in Spanish is equivalent to English "ty" or "ness." Hence argentinidad would be equivalent to "Argentinity" or "Argentineness." Similarly americanidad suggest• "Americanity" or "Americaness." Note that the "dad" ending is free of the political and doctrinary connotations of "ismo" as in argentinismo, ameri­ canismo, etc.

some very basic questions : obviously Argentina's language, literary traditions, and customs are European by origin ; but to what extent have they been transformed, reinterpreted, and modified by the American ethos? Rojas will answer simply that European culture has indeed undergone a process of "nationalization" in Argentina, but just how and to what extent he leaves unresolved.

However, a

possible answer is implied by his telluricism : the land itself, through the mystical

genius loci,

has wrought this transformation.3 This

notion of the force of the land, though hazily and sentimentally conceived, may have been Rojas' major contribution to the future

2. See Alberto Zum Felde, I ndice crf.tico de la literatura hi8parwamericana: El ensayo y la critiea (Mexico, 1954), p. 452. 3. See above, Chapter IV, pp. 61-63.

148

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

course of argentinidad. Rojas in effect presented his generation with

Mexican Revolution, to the university reform movement, and to the efforts of men like Jose Vasconcelos to rally support against North American imperialism. 8 His sentimental mystique of the land was perhaps as untenable as the Positivists' barren scientism; Soto describes Rojas' Indianism as "a gesture of ardent indigenist idealism but without roots in the historical reality of the present-day Indian." 9 He also considers the celebrated essay Eurindia quite inferior to the writings of Pedro Henriquez Urefia on the same theme.10 Bernardo Canal Feij6o, a contemporary essayist deeply involved in the analysis of argentinidad, feels that Rojas' indigenism and telluricism may be thought of as interesting aesthetic motifs, but not as valid insights into historical reality.11 On the other side of the ledger, a number of critics have accorded Rojas substantial praise. Alfredo Coviello has

a provocative inversion of Sarmiento's celebrated formula of "civi­ lization versus barbarism." Sarmiento, it may be recalled equated "civilization" with that which was European, urban, cultural, and coastal ; "barbarism" was associated with all that was rural, in­ digenous, and of the interior. Granted that this formula was as

simplistic as the one employed by Rojas, the fact remains that several generations of Argentine intellectuals had considerable difficulty in transcending it. The creative literature of the seventies and eighties, for example, is decidedly "Europeanized" and cos­ mopolitan. And it is virtually a commonplace that the portefio (inhabitant of Buenos Aires) of the late nineteenth century took

inordinate pride in the belief that he was the foremost representative of European civilization and racial purity in all Spanish Americ�.4 It was, conceivably, an historical necessity that a heavy-handed

writer, one who expressed himself in a "prophetic tone" and with "puffed-up eloquence"5 should be instrumental in redirecting the intellectual path of the nation. Rojas' approach to argentinidad has been controversial from the outset. Jose Ingenieros, speaking as a typical social-democratic

liberal of "European" Buenos Aires, sharply criticized the Blas6n de in an open letter published in the influential Revista de Amer­ Briefly, lngenieros considers the exaltation of the land, the

plata ica. 6

provinces, and the interior as "reactionary" : he feels that the hope for a great Argentina of the future lies with those people who have achieved an "ethnic modification" of the fundamentally barbaric and feudal "hispanic-indigenist oligarchies." His critique finally takes a personal tum when he points out the fact that Rojas was of a distinguished provincial family, whereas he, lngenieros, was

merely the son of an Italian immigrant.7 Nevertheless in terms of the themes we have been analyzing, lngenieros' narrow Europeanism

and equally narrow scientism place him, rather than Rojas, squarely

among the reactionaries. This does not mean that Rojas was by

contrast a radical; indeed, neither his aesthetics nor his politics

could be so characterized. Contemporary writers, such as the critic

Luis E. Soto, have pointed out specifically that he was cool to the 4. Two of the most outspoken Spanish American racists, it will be recalled, were the Argentinians Bunge and lngenieros. See above, Chapter II, pp. 16-19, 29-31. 5. These descriptive terms are Zum Felde's. See his Indice critico, p. 453. 6. Jos6 Ingenieros, "Nacionalismo e indianismo: Carta a Ricadro Rojas," Revista de Am�rica, II (May-Aug., 1913), 185-94. 7. Ibid., p. 194.

149

called him the "Prince of Argentine letters" ; and one of the nation's leading philosophers, Coriolano Alberini considers his role in Argen­ tinian national life parallel to that of Herder in the development of a German national consciousness.12 More significant than these rather grandiose appraisals of Rojas' importance is the fact that many of his severest critics will either explicitly or implicitly ac­ knowledge their debt to him. The relationship of Rojas to the generation of Argentine essayists which follows him-men born at the close of the nineteenth century or in the early decades of the twentieth-is seen particularly well in the writings of Carlos Alberto Erro. Erro began his career in

various literary magazines during the mid-twenties; and for a brief period he directed the ephemeral but important Buenos Aires Revista de America. His first major work, Medida del criollismo (1929), contains a number of pieces which had appeared earlier in magazines as well as some newer material. This book, however, can­ not be appreciated fully without considering the milieu of which it

was a part. A remarkable amount of literary activity is in evidence in the Buenos Aires of the 1920's. An entire generation of writers-many of whom were close friends of Erro-was testing its literary wings in

the colorful, often highly volatile atmosphere of the city. Many

8. Lnis E. Soto, "Ricardo Rojas y Ia americanidad," Revista Iberoamericana, XXIII (July-Dec., 1958), 323. 9. Ibid., p. 322. 10. Ibid., p. 331. 11. Bernardo Canal Feij6o, "Sobre el americanismo de Ricardo Rojas," Revista Iberoamericana, XXIII (July-Dec., 1958), 221-26. 12. Cited by Soto, "Ricardo Rojas y Ia americanidad," Revista Iberoamericana, p. 333.

150

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

would soon become the leading writers of the nation : Jorge Luis

wherein his disagreement with Rojas lies. His critique of the earlier

Borges as a poet, essayist, and short story writer ; Eduardo Mallea as Argentina's most celebrated contemporary novelist ; and Ezequiel Martinez Estrada as one of her most penetrating essayists.

Some

members of the group edited and others collaborated on a host of literary reviews : Erro's

Revista de America, Borge's Proa and Martin Fierro, the philosophically oriented Valoraciones of Alejandro Korn and Francisco Romero, the left-of-center Vida Literaria of Samuel Glusberg, the Rightest, anti-Semitic Inicial, the Americanist Sintesis, and toward the close of the decade, the radical Claridad. These reviews reflect the rich intellectual l ife of the period : the literary

polemics, the visits of distinguished intellectuals, and the impact of

new ideological currents from Europe.

In their pages nativist argued

ditionalist, Trotskyite \Vith Stalinist.

The philosophically oriented

with universalist, radical with conservative, vanguardist with tra­ writers of the day-men like Miguel Angel Virasoro and Carlos Astrada-introduced Scheler, Heidegger, Husserl, Dilthey, and early existentialist thought ·to an intelligentsia reared on Spencer and Ingenieros.

In

1924 Martin Fierro

published the futurist manifesto

151

writer's work merits attention : "The knowledge that America is not

Europe nor the Indies, but rather a distinct entity resulting from the

union of the two-the only precise statement in four thousand

pages of text-does not clarify in the least my consciousness of what I am . . . . " 1 6 He further criticizes Rojas for confusing the traditional

Argentinian political dispute of federalism and unitarianism with the analysis of the psychological make-up of the Europeanized as opposed to that of the rural

portefio

criollo.

Erro touches upon a number of other writers, contemporary and

historical, who have attempted a national characterology. parently accepts Borges' picture of the

criollo

He ap­

as hardheaded, un­

deceived, intolerant of verbiage, and, most of all, fatalistic-the

man who will, like the Gaucho hero Santos Vega, die "with fine mockery on his lips."17 Yet Erro is acutely aware of the fact that

criollismo

has become, rightly or wrongly, associated with an inef­

fectual cultivation of the past. Gauchesque novel

Thus, in Giiiraldes' widely read

Don Segundo Sombra (1926) , Erro finds a pic­

turesqueness, an evocation of vanished memories rather than any real penetration into

character.18 He realizes, moreover, that

of Marinetti and, in the very same year, an important statement of political aims by the indigenist-oriented APRA. 13 But underlying

any contemporary author who discusses flaws in the

provocative title of Borges' poetry of the period, was the question of argentinidad-what Rojas, in his unsophisticated manner, thought

Europeanists.1 9 What Erro seeks is some valid means of resolving this either-or of criollismo and universalism : "There is a genuinely

all this ferment, this "fervor of Buenos Aires," to appropriate the

of as "the pristine spirit of nationality."14

"If I had to state my objective concretely in a few words, I

would say that I am looking for the universal

criollo."15

With these

well-chosen words, Carlos Alberto Erro sets his task in the

del criollismo (1929).

Medida

His debt to Rojas is made quite clear only a

few pages later : he states that he had agreed with many of Rojas'

ideas in the early and mid-twenties, but that he gradually felt

obliged to reject the older writer's view of Argentine "individuality."

Erro is very specific in his admission that it was Rojas' work which initiated his own concern for the problem of "what we are and what we are to be." Yet he finds it very difficult to point out exactly 13. For an interesting summary of the activities of the Martin Fierro group see Vera Beck, "La revista Martin Fierro," Revista Hispanica Moderna, XVI (Jan.-Dec., 1950), 133-41. 14. Ricardo Rojas, La argentinidad, (2" ed.; Buenos Aires, 1922), p. 369. 15. Carlos Alberto Erro, Medida del crioUi81110 (Buenos Aires, 1929), p. 10. I choose to leave cridlo untranslated, since its English equivalent "creole" would lead to con­ fusion. At first crioUo meant the American-born children of Peninsular stock. Today it is virtually synonymous with "native American."

criollo

criollo's

char­

acter is immediately placed in the camp of the most unilateral

native mode of putting into practice enthusiasm, boldness, and faith.

The task faced by our generation consists in discovering the native

rhythm of these great sources of action."20 Erro's search for the meaning of

his views on time and on history.

criollismo

is closely linked with

In his attempt to show that the

criollo spirit does not simply belong to the past, he discusses a number of contemporary theories of historicism. Although

he respects

Spengler and Ortega to the extent that they recognize a degree of

historical continuity ("molecules of the past always survive") , he

apparently sides with Russell and the relativists in that past and future are

relative

to the observer ; that the discerning student of

history must "avoid all differences in attitude regarding the past

and the future, and [must] embrace in a single vision the integral 16. Ibid., pp. 12-13. 17. Ibid., pp. 14-16. 18. Ibid., p. 20. 19. Ibid., p. 18. 20. Ibid., p. 20.

152

development of time."21

For Erro the authentic

something which is "forever emerging."

153

Argentina's Quest for Identity

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

criolw spirit is

is simply a memory, a picturesque hero drawn from a vanished past.

If any temporal absolute

As such, Erro feels, he represents a typical example of the justification

his more ecstatic moments Erro implies that this youth is virtually

nistic flavor.28 In the chapter on "El simbolismo y la poesla de

is to be accepted in the New World it is that America is young-in perennial-and that America's future "is constantly being realized." Throughout the

Medida del criollismo

he stresses that Argentina­

and by extension the New World-must not feel that the weight of

of

criollo authenticity merely by virtue of rural setting and anachro­

nuestras cosas" the

modernista poets, specifically the imitators of

Ruben Darlo, are viewed as even more "un-criollo."

history restricts her growth and development, that Argentinians must

leading

being.22 He rebukes his countrymen for "laughing dionysically"

approves of the less obvious, but more profound

study their own "situation in the world," their own manner of with Nietzsche, and for being pessimists with Spengler ; in a word,

for slavishly following European intellectual fads.23 of

Erro's views on literature have a direct bearing on his concepts

The butt of

Erro's attack here is Leopoldo Lugones, in his youth Argentina's

modernista and in his later period a cultivator of popular,

"Gauchesque" poetry of questionable authenticity. In short Erro

and of Silva Valdes.

The secret of the effective

criollismo of Borges criollista, he main­

tains, "consists in viewing the details of local life as transcending

the frontiers of the nation, in fraternal communion with all that is

criollismo and of the_ Argentine essence. His fundamental aes­

American."29 We see here a good indication of how the search for

nalization of that which is momentary."24 He develops this idea

intimately related to a broader quest. What Erro calls the continental

move on, or more accurately, it moves on, but it is as if it did not;

represents the terminus of this search rather than the starting point.

the fleeting, ephemeral moment."25 It follows that much of the so­

immediate surroundings : they no longer begin the process of self­

thetic position is set forth in the statement that great art "is the eter­ further by noting that "in the realm of the eternal, time does not

time only exists, time only has meaning in the finite, in the realm of called

criolw literature of Argentina-that of the Gaucho-cannot The limitation of criollismo "to the Gaucho,

be considered great art.

to that which is legendary and traditional," he feels, is "as absurd as judging the character of a man by

his conduct at twenty years of

essence, be it

argentinidad, mexicanidad or cuhanidad, tends to be

"communion" (and conceivably the attailliiient of universality)

Thus, the more sophisticated writers look even closer at their own discovery by speaking of a vaguely defined continental destiny and

of a general American character from which the nation or the in­ dividual "deduces" its own role. Erro's interest in

argentinidad and in the resolution of the criollo

age."28 He apparently would have Argentine writers seek historical

versus universal polarity is further developed in his essay of 1936,

period. He implies, moreover, that the genuine

of a changing political and economic atmosphere. In the section of

constants-unchanging motifs-which might appear in any historical

criollo spirit may be

Tiempo lacerado. This work deals with these problems in the context

found in both city and country. Erro considers the cultivation of

the essay titled "El sentido del momento actual en la Argentina,"

to do with the creation of authentic

criollismo : in his favorable

the nation into a mood of disenchantment, of facing up to a new

that despite his compatriot's stylistic vagaries and despite his focus

themselves a decade earlier were now piercing beneath the surface

an obviously rural Gauchesque literary style to have little or nothing

critique of Borges' poetry of the twenties, he makes it quite clear

upon urban life, he nevertheless succeeded in capturing the essence

criollismo. Speaking directly to Borges, he writes : "You feel the foreign, un-criollo, cosmopolitan city with the emotion of an old criollo."27 By contrast Giiiraldes' protagonist in Don Segundo Sombra of

21. Ibid., 22. Ibid., 23. Ibid., 24. Ibid 25. Ibid., 26. Ibid 27. Ibid., .,

.,

pp. 51 -52. p. 91. p. 61. p. 100. p. 101. p. 75. p. 107.

Erro notes that the severe depression of the early thirties had jarred reality.30 The generation of writers who were struggling to find of national character : Martinez Estrada, cited by Erro as an im­ portant new interpreter of

criollismo, had just written his merciless Radiografia de la Pampa (1933) ; and Eduardo Mallea, after aban­

doning the studied cosmopolitanism of his earliest prose, was seeking

out the "invisible Argentine" in such works as the

Historia de una pasi6n argentina (1937). It is very probable that the political and 28. Ibid., p. 20. 29. Ibid., p. 123. 30. Carlos Alberto Erro, Tiempo lacerado (Buenos Aires, 1936), p. 204.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

economic crisis of the period intensified the search for deeper values

period of domination by an older, somewhat decadent parent civili­

154

in Argentine life : in a speech delivered shortly after the publication

155

zation.34 Thus Erro compares the emergence of an authentic Argen­

Tiempo lacerado, Erro explores tills point at some length. In terms

tine-and by extension of an authentic Spanish American culture­

and anguish" are prime requisites for self-discovery, for the discovery

America was colonized by men who wished to prolong the trajectory

of

which certainly suggest the existentialist spirit, he notes that "passion

of the individual or the group essence.31 He holds that what Argen­ tina had lacked-at least until the depression of the early thirties­ were the difficulties and adversities which lead to anguish and pas­ sionate self-appraisal.

Hence the superficiality of the bulk of Argen­

tine writing before this period, and conversely the "authenticity" of

to the rebirth of a child "already

of Europe in the New World explains this late flowering of a genuinely

independent Americanism and the only very recent attempt at

authentic self-knowledge : "He who has within easy reach pre-ar­

ranged solutions, formulas and guide-lines for every necessity, is confronted with a tremendous handicap

the

covery. . . . "36

estimate of Argentina of the mid-thirties. Though these were

Americanism and

argentinidad of recent decades.32 The title of the essay, Tiempo lacerado (The Unhappy Time), is not completely descriptive of Erro's

10 years old."35 That Spanish

to

successful

self-dis­

Although there is a good deal of freshness in Erro's thoughts on

argentinidad, the influence of certain non-Hispanic

troubled, painful times they were also dramatic and creative. Just

thinkers is clearly reflected in his work.

His relationship with Waldo

epochs in history wherein nations suffer, strive for self-knowledge,

writers were familiar with each others' work in the late twenties and

as there are individuals who live dramatic, tortured lives, there are

Frank, for example, was one of mutual interest and respect.

and so eventually progress.

early thirties.37 In the Tiempo lacerado Erro quotes Frank's Re­ discovery of America at length on the decay of Europe in relation to

By contrast, there are individuals and

historical periods which never face up to life in its full dramatic

intensity.

Erro holds that the late Roman Empire-materialistic,

overorganized, and dominated by its Stoic and Epicurean philoso­

phers�xemplifies this kind

of period. Early Christianity,

the

the birth of the New World.38

Both

If we recall the opening statement of

Frank's chapter on " The Grave of Europe,"-America, the New

World, "was a world born old"-we may immediately appreciate the shnilarity in viewpoint of the two writers. In his speech of

Similarly, the twentieth century with its vitalism, irrationalism, and

1937, Posibilidad y realidad de la vida argentina, Erro again admits his

and ideological ferment.33 That this century has also been witness

writer is the North American's analysis of Europe's discovery-not

epoch of St. Augustine, however, represents a deeply dramatic one.

(in the mid-thirties) its embryonic existentialism is a time of passion

to catastrophic events-wars,

revolutions,

and dictatorships-is

further corroboration that these are times in which a "dramatic concept of life" holds sway. The association of the "dramatic" historical periods with youth and "antidramatic" periods with old age is, of course, obvious. The application of Erro's historicism to Argentina and to Spanish America is seen in his contention that the New World of the twentieth century is profoundly youthful. Although Europe has dominated for cen­ turies, the cultural independence of recent decades has presented the continent a future rich in possibilities.

The youthfulness of the

New World has, nonetheless, been modified substantially by the fact that its cultural independence has taken place only after a long

31. Carlos Alberto Erro, Pollibilidad y realidad de la vida argentina, Conferencia del Instituto Cultural Joaqufn V. Gonzalez (Buenos Aires, 1937), pp. 44-47. 32. Ibid., p. 49. 33. Erro, Tiempo laccrado, p. 9.

debt to Frank.

In this instance what appeals to the Argentine

of America, but, as Frank puts it, of " . . . the Ocean . . . the antithesis of these Latin seas . . . uncharted . . . boundless . . . . "39

B oth

writers accept this boundlessness of the ocean as symbolic of .Am"erica's unformed destiny and unlimited possibilities.

Thus Erro will state

simply " . . . Argentina is a part of America and America is the con­

tinent of possibility."40 Aside from the attractiveness of his ideas,

Frank's decidedly dramatic personality certainly could not fail to appeal to Erro. Erro shows a similarly sympathetic attitude toward the ideas and person of Nicolas Berdyaev.

In the Tiempo lacerado Erro states that he prefers a "fiercely atheistic" Bolshevik 34. Ibid., pp. 197-221. 35. Erro, Posibilidad y realidad, p. 14. 36. Ibid., p. 37. 37. See Waldo Frank's appreciation of Erro in America Hispana (New York, 1931), p. 337, note 1. 38. Erro, Tiempo lacerado, pp. 153-54. 39. Waldo Frank, The Re-discovery of America (New York, 1929), p. 18. 40. Erro, Pollibilidad y realidad, p. 4.

156

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

to a "luke-warm" liberal ; significantly, he goes on to say that "ex­

point by calling for "great leaders, or saints, or apostles" to cham­ pion, by their example, a revitalized Christian humanism. Erro has not written a great deal about specific national char­ acteristics in his study of argentinidad, and only occasionally has he set forth concrete programs for future development of the country.« Rather he has attempted to analyze the historical and moral situation of contemporary Argentina and to prescribe an attitude which the nation's intellectual leaders Inight adopt. The implication though­ out his work is that only through a profound comprehension of the national reality will the tremendous possibilities open to Argentina be realized : "The great problem of the Argentinian is that of his authenticity; or better stated, the Argentinian is a man whose genuine being is not a certainty, but rather a living problem."45

tremes come together."41 The implication is, of course, that men of dedication and passion are united in a great fraternity which trans­ cends doctrinal divisions. Berdyaev clearly was a member of this fraternity : profoundly radical, he could appreciate the spiritual aspect of Marxism and could hate the dehumanizing, technologically oriented world of bourgeois capitalism. By the same token he could not accept the massive machine-like state which the Bolshevik revolution had spawned. Somewhat like Waldo Frank, Berdyaev envisioned an "integrated" world of heterogeneous individuals : he

considered racism, most forms of nationalism, fascism, and com­ munism to be divisive and to lead to the establishment of supra­ human political structures capable of destroying the "person." Berdyaev viewed "individualism," upon which these divisive "isms" feed, as bad; he saw "pe�sonalism," however, as the proper term to describe the Christian philosophy of man as an expression of God. Another facet of Berdyaev's thought which appealed strongly to

Erro was his attempt to establish an historical parallel between the early Christian period and the twentieth century. The freshness, vigor, and intrinsic humaneness of the church of Augustine, Berdyaev felt, must be born again in the sterile, mechanized, dying world of today. Erro's characterization of the early Christian period as "dramatic" and his emphasis on the youthfulness of contemporary Spanish America are clearly echoes of these ideas. Erro's literary soul-mates are men of intense commitment and of fervent spirituality: Berdyaev, Unamuno, Kierkegaard, and especially Charles Peguy, whose dramatic life, religious convictions, and tragic death obviously moved Erro deeply. Citing the French writer in

Tiempo lacerado, he states that the great emphasis placed on political revolution is pointless without a corresponding inner revolution : "No revolution is genuine unless it is a moral revolution."42 This movement-this ch::j,nge in modern man-Erro feels, must be ac­ complished "in the realm of practical life," by means of clear prin­ ciples established by Christ himself. In the spirit of both Peguy and Berdyaev he calls for "injecting new energy, new dynamism into Christian principles" which, in our contemporary materialistic world, have remained in a state of "languid inertia."43 Erro concludes this 41. Erro, Tiempo lacerado, p. 82. Regarding Berdyaev, see above, note 160 to Chapter IV. 42. Erro, Ticmpo lacerado, p. 191. 43. Ibid., p. 193.

157

Though Erro was one of the first Spanish American writers to come under the sway of early existential thought, he retains a basic optimism with respect to human endeavor. While some essayists and novelists on the periphery of this movement have been sensitive only to existentialism's gloom, preoccupation with death, and anguish, Erro views this philosophic revolution as one which may

have a profoundly liberating effect upon human thought and action. He suggests that Argentina's poets, intellectuals, and scholars should undertake a joyful, "architectual" molding of the future,4 6 based upon an existential appreciation of reality. In his Didlogo existencial (1937) Erro sheds a bit more light (but only a bit) upon how the new philosophy will serve as an instrument for the apprehension of this reality. Before any conclusions may be drawn regarding Erro's understanding of the relationship between existentialism and argen­ tinidad (or americanidad, by extension), his concept of existential philosophy itself requires clarification. In the Didlogo existencial Erro apparently looks upon the development of existential thought as the necessary culmination of the revolt against scientism and rationalism. These older philosophic positions had to give way because of "a profound divorce between the ideals of an entire century and the present state of things. "47 He goes on to note that reality is too "rebellious and unmanageable" to be apprehended in terms of the past century's philosophic framework. This situation, he feels, has resulted in the widespread acceptance of irrationalism. 44. Erro does make a few specific recommendations regarding land-reform and deurbanization in Posibilidad y realidad, pp. 26-28. 45. Ibid., pp. 49-50. 46. Ibid., pp. 20ft 47. Erro, Tiempo lacerado, p. 96.

158

JN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

However, Erro fails to develop these introductory remarks adequately,

ness," his being "outside") from his own being, than to any isolation

despite the fact that he enjoyed a first hand acquaintance with Heidegger and that this essay was for the most part a version of an actual dialogue with the German philosopher in the summer of 1936. Erro merely limits himself to brief mention of some of the important exponents of this new philosophic trend-Chestov, Husserl, Dilthey, Hoffding, among others-and to a superficial description of various aspects of existential thought. He points out, for example, that there is a definite religious wing to the movement (Barth, Berdyaev, and Chestov) opposed to a nonreligious group of existentialists ; or he praises his compatriot, the philosophical essayists Carlos Astrada, as one of the few good interpreters of Heidegger.48 In one of the few instances where he actually comes to grips with the basic tenets of existential thought he seems to accept the Heideggerian definition of being as "a continuo�s presence" rather than as "substance."4 9 The absence of further definitions may itself be indicative of Erro's understanding of the existential viewpoint : if existence indeed precedes essence-to

use

the classic statement of the existential

position-then the process of defining, clarifying essential positions becomes rather secondary.

The intent of Heidegger's great work

Sein und Zeit, Erro claims, is "to make visible the existence of man as temporality."60 The emphasis here is upon a "doing," an action or process rather than upon a libresque definition. This same intent characterizes Erro's "application" of this philosophy to Argentina and to the continent.

Although we must accept Zum Felde's ob­

servation that Erro never clarifies the precise relationship of ex­ istentialism to argentinidad,01 the presence of Heideggerian attitudes in Erro's essays is undeniable. A good example of this presence is seen in Erro's ideas of commitment and participation. Heidegger's exegetes have pointed out that one of the main differences in the German philosopher's position and that of Kier­ kegaard is that Heidegger stresses an "essential participation . . .

159

from other individuals. In fact, Heidegger even affirms a natural, or perhaps metaphysical, communion of individuals.

The idea of

relationship with the world is characterized, on the one hand, by recognition of future possibilities and, on the other, by an awareness of the limitations stemming from conditions imposed by the past. The present, or the "third ecstasy of Time," to use the Heideggerian phrase, implies a ceaseless searching for a trajectory, an orientation in terms of these limitations and possibilities. As Jean Wahl observes, this is the starting point of the Heideggerian ethic : "the 'Resolute Decision' by which we take upon ourselves our past, our future and our present and affirm our destiny." Erro's concern for his country and his continent led him toward a similar position in which social commitment and participation were heavily emphasized. The im­ plication is that the process of creating argentinidad is not unlike the Heideggerian "resolute Decision," the act by which one's destiny is constantly "affirmed" in the historical and circumstantial context. Since the understanding of this context involves a thorough analysis of past experience and future possibility, the proper activity of the nation's intellectual leaders is clearly marked out. Erro, like many of his fellow essayists in Spanish America, is really searching for a method, a set of guidelines by which concrete observations or sug­ gestions regarding the national life may be made. Rather than sketch out the national character or propose specific programs, he simply calls attention to the need for analysis, self-knowledge, and, most important, the need for intellectuals and statesmen to affirm

argentinidad: "Let us assume our direction . . . by the most certain route . . . that of the study of our own place in the world."63 Erro believes that one of the greatest dangers in the present world is the preoccupation with immediate problems rather than with basic long-term questions. He underscores this view by criti­ cizing Ortega's notion that the constant relegation of the present to

with the world" whereas the Dane-and others like him-are radically individualistic. 52 In Heidegger's view we are always "open to the

the future is in effect "the sickness of our time."" In the light of

world" or in "direct relation with the world." The celebrated ex­

in 1929 of criollismo as "something that is arriving" contains the

istential theme of "isolation," at least in the Heideggerian view, refers more to the individual's fundamental separation (his "alien-

48. Ibid., p. 61. 49. Ibid., p. 122. 50. /bid., p. 114. 51. Zum Felde, Indice critico, p. 470. 52. Jean A. Wahl, A Short History of Existentialism (New York, 1949), p. 15.

his later essays and excursions into existentialism, his characterization kernel of his message and the essence of his contribution to the pursuit of argentinidad. Among Erro's very closest literary acquaintances of the mid­ twenties was the youthful Eduardo Mallea of provincial Bahia 53. Erro, Medida del crioUismo, p. 91. 54. Ibid., p. 53.

160

Argentina's Quest for Identity

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

161

Conocimiento y expresi6n,

Blanca-essayist, short story writer, and novelist-to-be. A great

remote regions of his native country : the

deal of common ground unites these two writers : both shared the

which contains the germ of many of the ideas to be developed in

same general outlook, the same tonality, the same love for dramatic,

later essays, was composed entirely in France. Although residence

tertulias (literary and social

abroad undoubtedly sharpened Mallea's appreciation of the positive

gatherings) in the cafes of Buenos Aires and the same mutual friends are fondly recalled by both. 66 Mallea, however, is better known as

contemporary man and that it does not necessarily result from unusual

a writer of prose fiction than as an essayist, though the fine line

circumstances.

which divides his fiction from his essays is often barely discernible.

virtually all of the younger generation of America.

tortured

personalities. The same

For example, in the novelettes which comprise his rio

Ciudad junto al

in'TMvil (1935), the personalities portrayed are in effect the same

nature of solitude, he notes that aloneness is a general condition of It is to be found, for example, as a characteristic of It is particularly

acute among the many Argentinians who have flocked to the city­ Buenos Aires-in search of contact with others similarly affiicted by

anonymous Argentinians who are the subjects of his most important

"restlessness, loneliness, desolation," and perhaps by their desire to

essays : "Millions and millions of American men who are searching

find Argentine authenticity : "they have been frightened by their

for themselves . . . their conscience enduring the dark, subterranean

solitude, and . . . have left in anguish to seek this contact in the city. . . " 6 9 The experience of these men, young artists and writers

task of gestation . . . .

Men of America, men of Argentina as yet un-: born unto themselves . . . unborn unto knowledge of themselves." 6 6 Apparently the early thirties were as crucial in determining the trajectory of Mallea's work as they were in shaping the literary future of many of his coinpatriots. 67 In his earliest book, the Cuentos

para una inglesa desesperada ( 1926) , Mallea is deeply, almost neu­ rotically, preoccupied with "finding himself" : in his later works the search for self-knowledge comes to be viewed as a process necessarily operating within a social framework. In his essay of1935, Conocimiento

y expreswn de la Argentina, this point is central to his thesis. Knowl­ edge, and here self-knowledge is clearly indicated, is only one half of man's "supreme unity." the title of the essay.

The other half is "expression"-hence

Both processes are difficult and are only

achieved through anguish : both require that the individual be in intimate contact with other individuals.

The initial steps in achiev­

ing this "supreme unity" of self-knowledge and expression demand that the individual be intensely, radically alone. In the

Conocimiento

y expresi6n Mallea speaks of the need to "negate" oneself, to suppress

all that is "contaminated by a visible wilderness of passions, de­ sires . . . . " 6 8 One must be, in a sense, "outside oneself" to really know oneself.

It is no mere coincidence that many of Mallea's most

fertile ideas were developed while he traveled either abroad or in 55. See especially Mallea's HU!!oria de una pasi6n argentina (Buenos Aires, 1939),

pp. 4511'., for a description of this circle of writers. 56. Eduardo Mallea, La ciudad junto al rio inm6vil (Buenos Aires, 1935), p. 15. 57. Recall the "mood" of Argentine intellectuals during the early 1930's as described by Murena. See above, Chapter V, p. 136. 58. Eduardo Mallea, Corwcimiento y expresi6n de la argentina (Buenos Aires, 1935), p. 51.

.

very much like Mallea himself, was in a sense a radical exile, albeit within the confines of their own country.

The nature of this ex­

perience forms the matrix of Mallea's most impressive essay,

Historia

de una pasi6n argentina. This work may be approached best by first examining its con­ cluding chapter.

The tone, as in most of the book, is intensely

personal ; the style, poetic prose at its best. Mter an extended period of travel Mallea returns to his old residence on the upper floor of a Buenos Aires building.

It is daylight, and gazing out over

the broad flat plains upon which the bustling modern metropolis now rises, he muses : "I was almost crying to myself . . . I was a mass of sorrow and reflection . . . and as I looked out over this nation which stretched out so close to me, and yet so far off. . . I could not contain in the depths of my being a great sadness towards the land in which

we have suffered and in which we have left a bit of ourselves." 60 Mallea then describes how in his meditation he loses all awareness of time and external reality : "I felt myself to be free of all bonds, to be isolated in a universe of my own . . . . I was far from everything, but I sensed a vibration, as if my skin were in contact with unknown but numerous human presences . . . the more I would isolate myself from everything, the more I would unite myself with everything." 61 For a brief moment of poetic lucidity, the particular and the universal fuse.

The consuming study of his country, the ambivalent vision of

the great city-powerful and proud yet somehow empty-the distant

59. Ibid., p. 54. 60. Mallea, HU!toria de una pasiOn, p. 190. 61. Ibid., p. 191.

162

glimpse of river merging with the horizon, and the memories of foreign places recently visited, all seem to vanish while a sudden awareness of human communion takes hold of the writer: Through the interior fatherland one progresses to the others, to those that are external, to the nation and to the universal fatherland, since the genuine and profound fatherland is not created independently, but within each man. . . . You can't go anywhere without exiling yourself. The path to creation is the path of exile; and there is a time to reject this exile and there is a time to accept it ; there is a time to decide between remaining bound to the fiction that surrounds us or going into exile. 52

163

Argentina's Quest for Identity

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Mallea. One could probably make as good a case for tracing Mallea's passion for the land to his compatriot Ricardo Rojas, who, as we saw earlier, urged Argentinians to seek out the genius loci, the mystical telluric forces appreciated by the Indian, but ignored by the

cosmopolite. Another

important

influence

upon

Mallea's

telluricism was Pascal: the Argentine appreciates the French thinker's feelings of terror and anguish when confronted by "the eternal silence of infinite spaces." Mallea, however, believes that emotions of human insignificance amidst the immensity of nature provide a stimulus, a challenge for human endeavor. The conviction that men in general and Argentinians in particular are capable of meeting this challenge distinguishes Mallea's telluricism from that of more pes­

This "beautiful and unfortunate exile," Mallea seems to say, has

simistic, deterministic writers. His concept of the "man versus land"

many of the characteristics of a religious, if not a mystical, experience.

relationship suggests even a classical attitude. 66 This view is further

The individual suffers "incomparable pain" and "intense pleasure";

when he "returns" from this state he is "cleansed," and "made better

corroborated by his reaction to the ideas of Keyserling, whose book,

South American Meditations, written after his visit to the New

from head to toe." The return itself implies that the exile is now

World, was widely discussed by Spanish American writers. Mallea

ready "to give himself," to offer something of value to his fellow

takes issue with the German thinker when the latter notes that man

man. 53

must "free himself of the land." Rather than "free himself" (librarse)

Mallea believes that all things have a dual existence : the phys­ ically apparent (the "external shape") as opposed to the "spiritual

of the land man should "rise up" (levantarse) from the land, while maintaining contact with this powerful vital source. Mallea further

realm." A crucial point in Mallea's work is that this duality very

rejects Keyserling's notion that the land inspires "terror" in man-a

definitely applies to the land itself : " . . . nations, like all things,

terror which must be overcome : what man must do, claims Mallea,

have two realms : their physical appearance, their external shape,

"is live on the land without being terrified."67 In short, Mallea

and their inner territory; their spiritual territory." Nationalism or

views the land in decidedly positive terms ; it is the constant nutrient,

patriotism in its purest form results when "a man has created within

the source of life for man's spiritual being and of his possible regener­

himself his spiritual territory and has wedded it to the spiritual

ation:

territory of his country.

.

.

. "64

A mystique of the land itself, then, is as important in Mallea's thinking as is his concept of the dual nature of human existence. His attitude toward the land suggests a number of writers, both Argentine and foreign. A recent study of Mallea's work points to the Spanish essayist of the turn of the century, Angel Ganivet, as its chief source. 65 There may well be some parallelism here, but Gani­ vet's interests in deriving national or group characteristics from the very shape of the land mass (the "insular personality," etc.) seems to imply an acceptance of geographic determinism quite absent in

62. Ibid. 63. Ibid., p. 192. 64. lbid. 65. John H. R. Polt, The writings of Eduardo Mallea ("University of California Publications in Modem Philology," Vol. 54 [Berkeley, 1959)), p. 20.

Every great fertilization of life and humanity comes from a deep feeling for the land . . . color, vital fluids, substance all come in different ways from land ; the powerful sense of life, the spiritual anguish, and the feeling of cosmic sorrow of a Tolstoy or of a Dostoyevsky came from the land. And everything that exists on the surface of the land is in a state of regeneration. In a state of growth and ceaseless multiplication. 68 These three points-the solitude-communion polarity, the duality of the physically apparent versus the spiritually real, and the mystique of the land-form the basis of Mallea's concept of argentinidad and 66. Note the similarity of this view of nature to Reyes' "classical" attitude toward the land. See above, Chapter IV, pp. 82-84. 67. Mallea, Historia de una pasiOn, p. 131. 68. Ibid., p. 132.

164

165

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

his crucial distinction between the "visible" Argentine and the

us a good idea of the kind of continent and nation that Mallea hopes

"invisible" Argentine.

The "visible" Argentinians are the am­

to see emerge : the character of "invisible" Argentinian and, by

bitious, self-centered, hollow men of everyday affairs who suffer from a very simple malady: "The lifeless way in which they live. '' SD

extension, of the authentic American is one of intense dedication,

The life of the "visible" Argentinian lacks drama, conviction, passion.

ultimate recognition of what is termed "the unity of the human bond." 74 The ideal Argentine--and certainly the ideal man, regard­

Moreover, he is inarticulate, isolated, and given to the exaltation

of a "severe exaltation" of life born of solitude, introspection, and an

moreover, be confused with the profound introspective solitude

less of nationality-will do his duty, exercise his profession honestly, work confidently in the faith that what he is doing as an individual

which, we have seen, may lead directly toward a broadly humani­

is necessary to his fellows and to humanity as a whole. In some of

tarian communion.

the most dramatic pages of the Historia de una pasi6n argentina,

of "mere individuality.''70 His isolation and egocentrism must not,

Although the "visible" Argentinian seems to be more in evidence in the city, and his opposite, the "invisible" Argentinian, more frequently encountered in the country, Mallea is careful to point out that it is not his intention to establish a simplistic equation of this kind. 71 Nonetheless; the city, in Mallea's earliest work as well as in his later novels, is often pictured as a chaotic, disorienting force. It "de-naturalizes" man ; it leads toward a desperate sort of individualism, to the p.ursuit of artificial, materialistic goals rather than toward a sense of communion. But the implication is present that the inhabitants of the city may, in their own way, achieve an "authentic" existence and attain that "severe exaltation" of life which Mallea considers essential to the "invisible" Argentine. Mallea does not make clear exactly how this is to come about, for it is precisely the intimate relationship with nature and the land which defines the authentic "invisible" Argentinian, who exists "in relation to stars, plants, rocks and the general form of everything that is." The "invisible" Argentinian, moreover, has the strength and courage of a man "faced with the primeval and unchained challenge of nat­ ure."72 Since Mallea believes that the history of America is the history of man versus the "rebelliousness" of nature, the "invisible" Argen­ tinian is equated with the authentic man of the New World. But why the adjective "invisible?" For one thing, Mallea, like so many of his contemporaries, envisions a flowering of genuine American culture in the future. Of the American he states simply : "The reality which faces him is unwritten.'' 73 The spirit of American authenticity thus remains, at the present time, more or less unseen. Yet Mallea has glimpsed this spirit in the argentino invisible.

69. Ibid., p. 51. 70. Ibid., p. 58. 71. Ibid., p. 84. 72. Ibid., p. 88. 73. II>id.

These glimpses afford

Mallea recalls seeing just such men in action : I have seen men with only an extra kerchief around their necks go out to their fields in winter. . . . I have hear? of doctors struggling in the back country for want of a proper mstru�ent to save a dying patient and I have known how my skilled father in the midst of the wilderness once opened a patient's stomach with a sterilized jack-knife. . . . I have seen men who wished to teach honestly go hungry, ill-paid, and persecuted by higher officialdom. . . . I have anxiously and frequently waited, listening for the almost imperceptible rising up . . . of all those people who carry in their eyes the universal image of a new Argentina. 75 What distinguishes Mallea from a writer such as Ezequiel Mar­ tinez Estrada is the conviction that despite the egoism, insincerity, and mediocrity of the "visible" Argentinians, the desired authentic characteristics of the "invisible" Argentinians will emerge eventually. When it is clearly recognized that the false goals of the Positivists­ "well-being" and "progress"-are means rather than genuine ends, this process will be realized. Mallea appeals to his countrymen's spirituality, to their "creative dream," to their disinterest.

Stated

in its most elemental terms, if Argentinians are to achieve national authenticity (argentinidad), and thus genuine universality, it is imperative that they "give themselves" : "The gesture of giving is the first manifestation of faith, and since faith is the purest expres­ sion of the soul, it is . . . the essential form of man." 7 6 Mallea finds it inherent in Argentine life that the men controlling the destiny of the nation have forced this spirit of giving oneself (el animo de

donaci6n) into the subterranean realm of the "invisible. " There is, however, a peculiar irony in this situation, for Mallea believes that

74. Ibid., p. 87 . 75. Ibid., pp. 88-89. 76. Ibid., p. 153.

166

tI

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

nature herself provides a lesson in generosity : "In this land humanity gives of itself, plants give of themselves, animals give of themselves; even the rocks give of themselves in a general panorama of offering."77 Argentinians, like others in the New World, must not be less generous than the land itself.

Thus the utopian dream-the idea of America

as a land of promise, a continent whose abundant natural wealth provides an example of benign generosity upon which men must pattern themselves-also underlies Mallea's argentinidad. This atti­

tude places Mallea clearly within the Americanist tradition of the

present century : the Mexican, Alfonso Reyes, while his frame of reference is distinctly classical, reflects a similar viewpoint; and

Martinez Estrada, though he adheres to a more romantic and more pessimistic position, parallels Mallea quite closely. Further evidence of this exaltation of America's natural gifts may be seen in many other writers already discussed : German Arciniegas, M. Pic6n Sams,

and, very clearly, in Waldo Frank. Mallea's relation to the latter was unique. In a crucial chapter of the Historia de UnQ. paswn argentina, "Am�rica," he describes in

detail his acquaintance with the North American writer. At this point in his life, Mallea describes himself as in a state of utter despair.

Vaguely aware of what his mission as a formulator of argentinidad

might be, he finds, nevertheless, that he is unable to organize any

coherent statement of this mission : "A new country had taken pos­ session of me. . . . It was imperative that these destinies should

form a single body . . . . But since I did not have a leader's power to weld these destinies together, I already had the taste of failure on my lips. I was unable to remedy the situation in any way. My impotence and my sorrow because of this impotence were tremen­ dous."78

Argentina's Quest for Identity

167

recalls that that very morning he resolved to collaborate with Frank

in the translation of the lectures which the North American was to deliver in Buenos Aires. Mallea goes on to describe Frank in glowing

terms; he speaks of his "solid purity, " of his "understanding of universality," and of his "tragic and constructive sense of things." Dozens of similar expressions in the Historia de una pasi6n argentina attest Mallea's respect and admiration for Frank.

The question remains, however, what exactly did Mallea find so

appealing in Frank's ideas? The view that the New World was,

very literally,

new

is perhaps the most important of these. Although

the simple fact of newness did not resolve all the problems inherent in defining argentinidad and the American destiny, it unquestionably helped clarify Mallea's thinking on these fundamental questions : We are diametrically different from a Frenchman, a Finn, or a Roumanian. Why? In all these works and speeches that I was translating the answer was given : because we are a new world ; but that didn't strike me as a sufficient explanation. Something else had to be known : what part was ours in this new world. And that is what I wanted to tell this North American. . . . I wished to tell him about the natural forces that formed the basis of our possible role in the new human order.80 The chapter on Frank in the Historia de una pasi6n argentina ends on a very Mallean note.

The interchange of ideas between the

two men has proved to be quite fruitful ; the warm personal relation­ ship suggests the tremendous possibilities which might come from a real comprehension between North America and Latin America. The real "problem of America," Mallea feels, is the same throu

ghout

the hemisphere: the "act of comprehension" which has taken place

At precisely this critical moment Waldo Frank, some of whose

between himself and Frank must occur between many others; such

work the Argentine essayist had already read, appeared in Buenos

acts of genuine communication will ultimately reveal "the pure

mesSage. Mallea

ore" of humanity which now lies hidden below the surface. s1 This

describes how the two met, how he had earlier found much to admire

flowering of the human spirit can only be achieved through a process

Aires,

bearing

his

"difficult"

but

important

in the pages of Frank's Our America, and finally, how Frank invited

of radical solitude, followed by a reaching out towards others, which

him to his Buenos Aires residence to discuss the basic lines of his

in turn leads to a sense of communion-what Mallea terms "the

Americanist philosophy. In recalling this conversation, Mallea

accommodation of one's being to that of others in our midst."82

writes that the most significant feature of Frank's thought was that

Borrowing from Frank's terminology he speaks of the "integral"

it was "a completed whole," and "in spirit . . . was ecumenical."79 He

nature of any nation, culture, or community-a harmony of differing

77. Ibid. 78. Ibid., pp. 110·11. 79. Ibid., p. 113.

80. Ibid., p. 122. 81. Ibid., p. 125. 82. Ibid.

168

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

parts in which each individual unit is ever aware of his relationship to the whole. Mallea concludes this crucial chapter of his essay by

again stressing the value of "giving" (donaci6n) : the meeting with Frank has been fruitful because each man "gave something to the other." Mallea further remarks that men of spirit exist throughout

the continent only awaiting the spark which writers such as Frank could provide. 83 Mallea's closing statement-that he was certain

that his collaboration with Frank produced much more than the mere translation of a few speeches-is abundantly true. Indeed, the North American did much to enrich Mallea's "Argentine passion" with a universal passion. Our introduction to Mallea's work linked him closely with Carlos

Alberto Erro, an essayist whose writings frequently touched upon existentialism. Though references to men associated with this philosophical movement are common in the essays of both Erro and Mallea, writers like Kierkegaard, Unamuno, and Berdyaev can

hardly be considered orthodox exponents of the existential position. Rather, they are men whose passionate and often tormented writings reflect a wide range of attitudes which have come to be thought of as "existential." Mallea, unlike Erro, has made no attempt to organize

and explicate his ideas on the subject. Yet what we now call existen­ tial themes-anguish, solitude, the yearning for genuine communica­

tion, "commitment," etc.-are frequently found in his work. The fact that Mallea seldom discusses the technicalities of existentialism or mentions the professionals of the movement should not be sur­ prising since he is a creative writer rather than a philosopher. More

�

signific nt, however, is the fact noted by students of his thought that Mallea openly rejects the basic existential tenet of "existence preceding essence."84 He has also attacked existentialism on the grounds that it tends to restrict man, to encircle him and thus limit

his possibilities. This view is clearly expressed in a more recent

essay, "El analisis y las esencias" (1950) , published in the collection

Notas de un novelista (1954) : "The worst thing about existentialism

is that it is a matter of a closed philosophy. An ontology that infers no possibility of change is worse than physical death . . . trans­ cendency defines life itself in its biological as well as in its higher aspects. One lives to the degree that one transcends." 8 5 Mallea's

interpretation of existentialism as a "closed philosophy" could, of 8.1. Ibid. 84. Polt, The Writings of Mallea, pp. 49-50. . 85. Edward Me.llee., Notas de un 11D11elista (Buenos Aires, 1954) , pp. 18-19.

Argentina's Quest for Identity

169

course, be challenged; indeed, the debate revolving about the precise status of human liberty in existential thought continues to the

present. Although there may well be some question regarding Mallea's understanding of existentialism's subtleties it is clear that he accepted much of the movement's spirit. It is also true that he rejected those aspects of existentialism which did not fit his own estimate of human potentialities. For our purposes it is significant that the themes which make up the literary periphery of existen­ tialism-solitude, anguish, the pressing need for real communication with others-have figured prominently in Mallea's search for argen­ tinidad. Moreover, the fact that this existential flavor in his work is apparent as early as the mid-thirties is noteworthy, since the popular diffusion of this philosophy in most of the Western Hemi­ sphere occurs considerably later. It may be recalled, however, that these existential elements represent only a part of the Mallean argentinidad: telluricism-the mystique of the land-as well as Frank's dialectical concept of each individual's "sense of the Whole" also

played important roles in its formulation. Lastly, argentinidad is for Mallea a spirit, an attitude, a code of disinterested social effort, which has yet to be realized. In short, argentinidad does not de­ scribe the national essence as it is or was, but rather how it could

and should be. That references to existentialism appear so frequently in the discussion of Erro and Mallea may come as a surprise to those

unfamiliar with the Argentine intellectual scene of the late twenties and early thirties. North Americans-unless they had a professional interest in philosophy-were generally unaware of even the term­

inology of the movement until its diffusion, principally through the French, shortly after World War II. Similarly, among intellectuals in northern Spanish America, existentialism became widely known only after 1946, a fact that is well corroborated by a cursory exami­ nation of articles appearing in the leading literary and intellectual reviews of the continent in the thirties and forties. In Argentina,

however, familiarity with what was then called "existential philoso­ phy" (the term existentialism being of later coinage) dates from the

late twenties. This interest was understandably centered about the Germans who were then developing the new philosophy: Heidegger, and the earlier phenomenologists. The link with European existential thought through Ortega is quite apparent, yet Ortega and his Revista de Occidente were read in other parts of Spanish America as well as in Argentina. The presence of several first-rate philosophical minds in

170

171

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

the country, particularly Alejandro Korn (1860-1936) and Francisco

the "sportive" or "spontaneous" spirit typical of vigorous, new

Romero (1891-1962), must not be discounted. The older of the two,

cultures. Like some of his mentors he enjoys drawing historical

Korn, could hardly be called a precursor of existentialism; yet as a recent student of Argentine philosophy has pointed out, 86 the great

less "spontaneous," less "sportive" upon being "Judaized" ; similarly,

emphasis upon the creativity of the individual found throughout

the incipient culture of the New World must not be "contaminated"

parallels : pre-Socratic Greece, a young, flowering, culture, becomes

Korn's work provides an intellectual climate quite conducive to

(this is not Virasoro's exact terminology, but the implication seems

existential philosophizing. As for Romero, his work in certain fields peripheral to existentialism-philosophical anthropology and the philosophy of values-no doubt helped contribute to this climate.

clear) by influences which would limit its sportive vigor.

Two other writers-Miguel Angel Virasoro (1900-65) and Carlos

Such was

the case, Virasoro claims, when western Europe underwent the transformation of its original early Greek spirit by "Latin-Judaic"

influences. 90 How these ideas might be specifically applied to

Astrada (1894--)-were more directly involved in existentialism,

Argentina and America is not made clear; but throughout these

though they are much less famous than Korn and Romero. Both

early essays Virasoro repeatedly proposes a national "asceticism,"

are first and foremost philosophers and may be considered essayists

defined as a kind of conservation of vital energies-a "training"

only if a very broad definition of the genre is accepted : they are not

process which will enable the nation to live by the "sport-concept."91

well known outside Argentina, and surprisingly enough they are

Students of Ortega will note here many ideas similar to those expressed

often overlooked even by their own compatriots. 87 Zum Felde

in the Spanish essayist's Origen deportivo del estado-composed, inci­

suggests one explanation for this obscurity, at least in the case of

dentally, in 1924. Virasoro's articles of 1927-28, published in the im­

Astrada, when he points out that he espoused the cause of Nazism

portant review S£ntesis, reveal a great�r approximation to existential

early in the forties. 88 Virasoro, coincidentally, wrote his earliest

thought. In his conclusion to "Una teoria del yo como cultura"

articles in the ephemeral Rightist review, Inicial, whose very raison

( 1927), he states, for example, "The being of the ego is thus its self­

d'�tre, as its director proclaims, was to fight what he considered to

realization . . . not the pure abstract being excogitated by Parmenides,

be the good fight against "International communism and the Judaiz­

but a continual becoming." 92

ing press."89 The magazine was quite clearly anti-Semitic ; and

Among those most responsible for this surprisingly early culti­

Virasoro, albeit in a highly philosophical, highly intellectualized

vation of existentialism in Argentina, Carlos Astrada occupies an

Virasoro held to these political and religious prejudices in his later career; however, in the purely philosophical writings of his maturity,

the first book-length work in Spanish America to employ a clearly

manner, collaborated in this aspect of its program. I do not know if

such as his La libertad, la existencia y el ser (1942) , there are no traces of these views. But it is the Virasoro of the mid-twenties who interests us here. The Inicial articles, "El problema de la cultura y la nueva sensibilidad," show the same concern for crystallizing the national essence found in the works of Mallea and Erro. Virasoro's intellectual frame of reference, however, was not yet existential. His guides were the German neo-Kantian philosophers, Spengler and Ortega. As one might expect, he favors vitalism, activism, and

86. Juan Carlos Torchia Estrada, La filo8o/£a en la Argentina (Washington, 1961), pp. 250-54. 87. Neither Vll'&BOro nor Astrada are discul!l!ed in Torchia Estrada's book, see note 86 above. They are also not treated in Risieri Frondisi's extensive article, "6Hay una filosoffa iberoamericana?" Realidad, No. 8 (March-April, 1948), pp. 158-70. 88. Zum Felde, lndice crltico, p. 437. , 89. See the statement of policy published on the cover of the 2nd issue of lnicial, I (Dec., 1923).

important place. Astrada's El juego existencial (1933) may well be existential frame of reference. Although he studied with HE!iaegger in Freiburg and was well acquainted with the German philosopher's commentators, Astrada states at the outset of the book that he considers the work to be an original interpretation of the master's philosophy. ua Although the title of Astrada's book-the existential "Game" or "Gamble"-suggests the Orteguian interest in the "sportive" basis of society, this similarity is only superficial. Astrada's objectives, tone, and conceptual framework are entirely different and,

moreover,

surprisingly modern. Witness his definition

of

90. Miguel Angel V1rasoro, "El problema de 1a cultura y la nueva mentalidad argentina," Inicial, I (Dec., 1924), 11-25. 91. Miguel Angel V1rasoro, "Introducci6n a la nueva sensibilidad," Inicial, II (August, 1925), 115. 92. Miguel Angel Virasoro, "Una teorfa del yo como cultura," Slntesis, I (Dee., 1927) , 36. 93. Carlos Astrada, El juego e:ri8tencial (Buenos Aires, 1933), pp. 9-12.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

existence as "the game of risking one's being." Astrada's ampli·

essayists. The efficacy of the existential viewpoint in resolving such

172

fication of this idea bears citation: "Existence is essentially null. The knowledge of the nothingness which is existence is the game in

which man is placed. " 94 Further on, Astrada develops the concept of "the game" as an asidero (handle) or sosten (support) by which man "maintains" his existence : In an essentially meaningless, "null"

world the very notion of man's concept of the world is derived from

this continuous act of "risking" or betting one's being. 95 Again the similarity to the vocabulary of more recent existential writers'-to Sartre, for example-is striking. However, Astrada leaves a great deal unexplained, and the question of how original his treatise is, as compared with the main lines of Heideggerian philosophy, could not be answered without an extensive analysis of his thought, a task which would be beyond the scope of this study. More relevant to our purposes is the fact that Astrada's influence upon Argentine intellectual life was not limited to this one rather technical work. As a writer of philo�ophical essays in the important review Sur

during the thirties, he undoubtedly reached a wide audience. His articles, in the main explanations of and commentaries upon the leading early existential writers, have more than just routine interest.

In "De Kierkegaard a Heidegger" (October, 1936), for example, Astrada employs the noun existencialismo at a time when the move­ ment was universally referred to as "existential philosophy" or "existential thought," making him, in all probability, the first Spanish American writer to so use this term. Lastly, the role of Sur itself in the germination and fertilization of existentialism in Argen­ tina merits attention. At about the time that Astrada was writing in the review, articles on the new philosophy by his compatriots Erro, Mallea, and Bernardo Canal Feij6o began to appear. Notable,

too, was Sur's publication, in the summer of 1932, of a portion of the Spanish translation of Heidegger's Sein und Zeit.

To conclude, the early diffusion of existentialism in Argentina

had a marked effect on the content and tone of several of the country's major writers: the manner in which the argentinidad theme is

handled by Erro and Mallea is one of the best examples of this influence. We shall observe a parallel situation in other countries­ most markedly in the work of an important group of recent Mexican 94. lbUl., p. 26. 95. There is some difficulty in translating the verb "jugar," which can mean either "to play" (any game, with stakes or not) or "to gamble, to risk." Astrada's context suggests the latter as the best English rendering of his idea.

173

questions as the meaning of the national essence, the uniqueness of the American destiny, and the nature of the new humanism will be

explored later. At this point, however, the work of several other Argentine essayists who have contributed to the discussion of argentinidad must be examined briefly. Bernardo Canal Feij6o, a close contemporary of Mallea, Martinez Estrada, Erro, and Borges, has probed the Argentine essence from several interesting vantage points. In his El reverso humoristico de la tristeza criolla (1940) , a speech delivered at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, he attempts to analyze the Argentine spirit on the basis of three traits : I) "the spirit of evasion" 2) "the self-critical frame of mind" and 3) "the connaturalness of the spiritual creation."9e He maintains in regard to the first two points that although Argentina is apparently the most autocritical of Spanish American nations this self-analysis frequently lacks authenticity ; that the Argentin intellectual, once having approached the problem of writing about himself and his country, backs off and chooses not to face up to realities. A case in point, he feels, is Martinez Estrada, whose Radiografia de la Pampa Canal had attacked earlier in Sur. 97 Canal Feij6o's third point, that of the relation of the Argentine spirit to the land, is more fully developed. Like so many other Argentine writers, he feels that the land itself has had a decisive role in shaping the national character-indeed the nation's basic disorder derives from "the feeling of the country's extension, its wilderness ; that is, its inability to fill up this vastness, to possess it completely with the infinite power conferred upon organic nations." 9 8 Paralleling the

�

view of Sarmiento of a century earlier, Canal emphasizes that the

vastnes.'l of Argentina's territory infects the soul of the inhabitant with a "terror" of nature and with a "sense of the dissolution or disintegration of the inner unity of one's being. "99 The Argentine,

under these forces, develops an acute sense of nostalgic sadness ; his is the strange fate of "suffering absence while remaining in his place."

As one might suppose, this same alienation exists to an even greater degree among the immigrants, the newcomers to Argentina who are

faced not only with the painful experience of leaving their own

96. Bernardo Canal Feij6o, El reverso humorlstiro de la tri8teza criolla (Publieaci6n No. 43 de Ia "Extensi6n Universitaria" de Ia Universidad Nacional del Litoral [Santa Fe, 1940]), pp. 2-5. 97. See Canal Feij6o, "Radiograffas fatfdicas," Sur, No. 37 (Oct. ' 1927) ' 63-67. 98. Canal Feij6o, Reverso humoristico, p. 9. 99. Ibid., p. 13.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

country, but with the even more painful obligation to make a new

the interior during the Rosas regime could be explained as the ex­

174

1 75

homeland for themselves. But despite the apparent sadness of the

pected reversion from an artificially maintained situation to one

Argentine criollo, Canal feels that the authentic Argentinian really

which would be more "natural." This point leads to another crucial

faces life with a "certain smile," which, while not actually expressing

a sense of humor, is the "reverse" of his sadness. With this final observation, Canal Feij6o leaves his reader in the air. Although a

number of interesting problems are touched upon lightly, the Reverso

humonstico de la tristeza criolla in effect reaches no conclusions. Canal's tightly organized, well-documented historical essay Teori,a de la ciudad argentina (1951), is quite different. In this study he

presents the provocative thesis that the interior cities of the nation have never had

n

legitimate raison d'etre, and that Buenos Aires'

idea in Canal Feij6o's thesis : that there is in fact a natural, "organic"

pattern of growth for societies and nations. For example, he views the rise of Buenos Aires and its assumption of the functions of the political and economic capital of the nation as a "biological" phenome­

non. 102 Granted this naturally ordained hegemony of Buenos Aires,

the notion of a loose Argentine confederation is unthinkable. The suggestion that the nation would fare better if a new, centrally located capital were established is likewise untenable, since Canal Feij6o holds that the organic structure of a nation may not be

uniqueness lies in the fact that she is "the first Argentine city [that was] by origin necessary and authentic. "100 The provincial cities, he

arbitrarily altered : "The being of a nation is not a theorem, or a robot-like mechanism; it is a biological entity. . . . " 103 Canal Feij6o's

to suit the needs of transportation or administration. Perhaps the

particularly from biology.

attempted to set up cities in conformity with the centers of indigenous

means of the dual functions of assimilation and elimination. The "urban metabolism" of Buenos Aires, however, cannot cope with

argues, were established not on the basis of economic necessity, nor only explanation of their location is that the conquerors, sensing the ethnic and linguistic differences among the region's Indian tribes, population. Obviously, cities established in this manner could enjoy only an artificial existence. Even in the colonial period, Canal notes, the government was forced to adopt policies to maintain a "synthetic balance" between the coast and the hinterland. Often-and this point

essay abounds in analogies drawn from the natural sciences and For example, in discussing the problem

of the recent overexpansion of Buenos Aires, he presents a striking physiological metaphor of the city as a living organism which exists by

the tremendous mass of country people who have flocked to the city in recent years.

Since this movement into the city has not been

justified by any substantial increase in industrialization or other

is well substantiated by pages of documentation-the people of the

economic opportunities (as has been the case recently in western

interior cities had literally nothing to do, the officials nothing to

Europe and the U.S.A.), this human influx gives rise to frustration,

administrate, and the municipal councils nothing to decide. The continued existence of such cities, like their birth, stemmed only from "a formal and abstract decision, which rather resembles a rite, a magic rite. "101 Canal's essay is clearly an important contribution to the traditional Argentine polemic of the city (i.e., Buenos Aires) versus the country : the questions he discusses-the peculiar nature of Argentine demography, the relationships of man and land-have fascinated the nation's writers from Sarmiento to Martinez Estrada.

In the light of this polemic, one is immediately tempted to ask if Canal Feij6o "favors" the portenos-the people of Buenos Aires-or the provincianos ; this question, however, cannot be answered readily.

He does criticize Sarmiento's polarity of "civilization and barbarism" as inadequate for deciding the problems of city versus country.

In Canal's terms, however, the virtual collapse of urban society in 100. Bernardo Canal Feij6o, Teor{a de la ciudad argentina (BuenosAires, 1951), p. 45. 101. Ibid., p. 16.

aimlessness, crime, and delinquency. Stated in terms of his organic metaphor, Buenos Aires has become incapable of assimilating and eliminating the "toxins" and "impure residues" brought into its

body by this "unnatural" population pressure. 1 04 The victim of this condition, the individual whose hopes for a better life in the metropolis, have been crushed by the city's inability to absorb him and "has lost or cannot find his land." 106 The interesting implication here is that the city-at least a city which has grown to a size incon­ sistent with its ability to function properly and "organically"­ alienates man from his soil, from the natural, life-sustaining contact with the land.

What Canal Feij6o does not indicate clearly is

whether he believes, as some of his compatriots do, that any modern 102. Ibid., 103. Ibid., 104. Ibid., 105. Ibid.,

p. 148. pp. 185-86. pp. 222-24. p. 225.

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

city, by definition, has an alienating effect upon man. This may in

substantiated study of urban development during the colonial period ;

176

fact be his position, for later in his essay he argues that the modern city destroys traditional family life, and that despite the attempt to rationalize human existence "man continues to be the inhabitant of a geographic, climatological, scenic, and geological world. . . . " 1 0 6 In short, authentic man remains a child of nature. A paradox is thus suggested by Canal's view of urban growth : on the one hand the city is a "natural" development of the nation or society; and on the other, it tends to destroy man's very essence by cutting him off from the soil, from the natural realm which affords him his authenticity. A possible resolution of this paradox is suggested when Canal

Feij6o calls for what he terms an "extraordinary metaphor" ; "the urbanization of the countryside." 107 He argues that such a program -he refrains from outlining it in any detail-would bring about "a wonderful resolution of the old Sarmientan antinomy." 10 8 He urges,

moreover, that like cities, rural areas must be thought of as "human biological and organic. unities" and not "mere material objects."

He maintains that although his plan for "urbanization" of the rural areas may appear strange, it is justified since it is a reaction against the "mechanical fact of the city." 109 Here again disdain for the

modern city is in evidence ; a further indication of this position is seen in the final pages of the essay where Canal rebukes certain

Argentine sociologists and historians for their denigration of the well-developed culture of the estancia (large ranch or plantation) .

As with his earlier work, the weakest part of Canal Feij6o's essay is

the hazy conclusion. The plan for urbanization of the rural areas is not sketched out, and the author's ambivalent view of the city is not clarified. The fact that there is a vague lack of coherence in Argentine character ("a certain difficulty in his being") resulting

from the absence of marked climatic and geographic problems, is presented with little support and in a superficial manner. In a final ambivalent note Canal observes that the Argentine possesses both a

basic optimism and a basic fear or terror.U0 In short, the most impressive part of this work, dedicated incidentally "to the search

for authenticity in Argentine essence and history," 111 is the well106. Ibid., p. 107. Ibid., p. 108. Ibid. 109. Ibid., p. 110. Ibid., p. 111. Ibid., p.

235. 227. 230.

262.

251.

177

the broader objectives of the author are unfortunately not attained. We have already discussed the main lines of Ezequiel Martinez Estrada's thought in connection with Spanish American radicialism and the new humanism. Martinez Estrada has written a great deal specifically about his own country, however, and his contributions to

the argentinidad polemic are substantial. Most of what he has said on the subject flows from his basic philosophical premise that natural man is good until corrupted by modern civilization. Thus his massive, well-documented study of the Gauchesque theme in Argen­ tine culture, the Muerte y transfiguracion de Martin Fierro (1948), is built around the propositions that the Gaucho was by nature good ; that the "civilizing" regime of Sarmiento corrupted and then destroyed him ; and that at the turn of the century a complicated national mythology arose aimed at falsifying the character of the authentic Gaucho while obscuring the crime of his eradication.

Given Martinez Estrada's general attitudes, one concludes that he considered the Gaucho's way of life representative of a genuine agrarian society and that he viewed its disappearance as a great loss. The point is substantiated by his consistent and bitter critique of the city, as in his essay Cabeza de Goliat (1940) . We have seen that Martinez Estrada, like Rilke, considered the modern city to be "a

thing against nature" ; in the specific case of Buenos Aires he has metaphorically described the metropolis as a gigantic octopus whose tentacles (i.e., its rail lines) reach out to carry its corruption deep into the country. 112 The city dweller is in a sense kept prisoner by the city ; he is alienated or "dispossessed" from the natural realm, the source of all his genuine being. Only at night, when Buenos Aires sleeps and the "rational" world of daily activity ceases, do the city dwellers come into contact with the life-giving forces of nature. 113

Some parallelism with Canal Feij6o's study of Argentine urban development is evident here. Both writers stress the. abnormal growth of Buenos Aires-the unnaturalness of this encephalitic giant's head on the body of a dwarf.U4 Where Canal will say that the organism of the city is incapable of eliminating the toxins it consumes, Martinez Estrada will say of Buenos Aires : "It brutally and blindly absorbs the riches of the interior . . . the giant eats up every-

112. See above, Chapter V, p. 137. 113. Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, Cabeza de Goliat (Buenos Aires, 1940) , p. 37. 114. These views are substantiated by demographic fact: Of Argentina's 21.5 millions (1964 estimate), approximately one fourth live in Buenos Aires or in the city's metropolitan area.

178

JN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Argentina's Quest for Identity

thing. . . . It nourishes itself on poverty and backwardness, on

seemed to have found his utopian dream close to realization in

ignorance and on solitude."115 The part of the "jail-city" that pleases Martinez Estrada most is the great public park of Palermo, precisely because it is "the opposite of the city."11 6 Yet the reader of Cabeza

de Goliat becomes strangely aware of the author's great fascination,

if not affection, for Buenos Aires. Just as Sarmiento, who feared the political and social implications of Gaucho culture, was at heart a fervent admirer of the colorful individualist of the Pampas, Mar­ tinez Estrada hates the city in the abstract, but loves many of its inhabitants and many of its picturesque corners. This affection is seen in his lovely descriptions of certain streets, in his impressively poetic prose describing night in the metropolis, and in a series of fine vignettes dealing with its stores, kiosks, and pawnshops. In what way do Martinez Estrada's views of the city and the country define his argentinidad? The answer to this question h�s often been suggested in his work. In a more recent essay, Exhor­

taciones (1957), he notes that although he has made his message

clear repeatedly, peopte fail to listen : "Must I spend the rest of my days repeating myself like a broken record? We have no roots in the land (nor in the heavens) ; we feel no love, sympathy or affection

for our unknown neighbor . . . . We do not know how to make gifts, to donate, to make offerings . . . we do not feel that we are a people, a mission, a task, a destiny. . . . "117 The destiny of Argentina, he indicates, though he does not state it outright, is to return to a simple, anarchic, communal life in contact with nature-the implication being that kindness, altruism, and mutual cooperation will come forth "naturally" under such circumstances. Does Estrada literally mean that all the material advantages of modern life must be sacri­ ficed in order to return to this state of primitive bliss? Is life in a world of highly developed social structures, of factories, of mass communications and modern cities an impossibility for the altruistic,

sympathetic innocent of Estrada's dream? The answers to these questions, though never given directly, are apparently affirmative. Our earlier observation of what Martinez Estrada thinks of con­ stitutions, formalistic social organizations, cities, and political structures certainly bears this view out.118 Although Argentina does not appear to be following this path, other nations do. A few years before his death Martinez Estrada 115. 116. 1 1 7. 118.

Martfnez Estrada, Cabeza de Goliat, p. 86. Ibid., p. 94. Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, Exhortaciones (Buenos Aires, 1957), p. 28. See above, Chapter V, pp. 138-39.

179

present-day Cuba. In a provocative essay, "El nuevo mundo, Ia isla de Utopia y la isla de Cuba" (March, 1963) , he maintains that

the island of Utopia, described by Thomas More in the sixteenth century, may no longer by thought of as truly "imaginary" : it exists today in the Antilles ; it is the Cuba of Fidel Castro.119 Estrada argues that More's book must be thought of as a brilliant intuitive prognosis, rather than as a mere speculative work. That Castro himself-a classic underdog-and his regime would appeal to Mar­ tinez Estrada comes as no surprise. Keeping in mind Estrada's aversion to formalized government, constitutions, and complex legal apparatus, the attraction of the present Cuban regime with its day­ to-day operations may be appreciated. The repeated efforts of the

Castristas to establish the idea that Cuba's revolution has been

primarily agrarian is another facet of this appeal; and certainly the photographs of thousands of city workers abandoning their shops and offices to toil in the cane fields could not fail to impress a person of Estrada's bent. Overtly, this essay reveals nothing of Martinez Estrada's present concept of argentinidad. He may well have

believed, however, that a Castro-like movement in his own country would have provided the conditions for the eventual establishment

of an Argentine Utopia. Martinez Estrada's ideas are extreme, his basic outlook decidedly radical, and his view of reality highly subjective. As such, they have given rise to bitter criticism as well as to ardent admiration. Of contemporary students of argentinidad there is hardly one who has not reacted in one way or another to Estrada's work. We ·have

noted Canal Feij6o's critique of his Radiografia de la Pampa120 and Sebreli's characterization of his career as "a useless rebellion."121 Of a more personal nature was the sharp clash between Estrada and Jorge Luis Borges over the latter's praise of the Aramburu govern­ ment, a regime which Martinez Estrada disliked as much as he did

that of Per6n. t22 Perhaps his most devoted admirer is the poet,

novelist, and essayist H. A. Murena, whose evaluation of Estrada has already been noted. 119. Ezequiel Martfnez Estrada, "El nuevo mundo, Ia isla de Utopfa y Ia isla de Cuba/' Cuadernos Americano�, XXII (March-April, 1963), 117. See also Martfnez Estrada's Mi experiencia cubana (Montevideo, 1965). 120. See note 97 above. 121. See above, Chapter V, p. 134. 122. See Jorge Luis Borges, "Una efusi6n de Ezequiel Martfnez Estrada, " Sur, No. 242 (Sept.-Oct., 1956), pp. 52-53.

180

Argentina's Quest for Identity

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Murena, consistent with his interest in the work of his mentor,

181

ism, of the past . . . . " They have failed to get to the core of the

is himself deeply concerned with the question of argentinidad. He

nation's essence because they have not recognized the fact of "dis­

has crystallized this concern in a series of essays published as the collection, El pecado original de America (1958). At the root of

possession" and, equally important, they have been insensitive to the fact of solitude, inherent in Argentine geography : "Our world,

Murena's concept of the Argentine and American essence (the dis­

our present and our obstacle is solitude; therefore it is imperative

tinction between the two seems nonexistent in his writing) is the

that we confront it. Only by coming face to face (with solitude) will

idea that as inhabitants of the New World "we left everything when we came over from Europe or from Asia. "123 The American finding

we achieve our liberty, that is, will we exist, will we create art and not artifice."127 Each individual's confrontation with solitude will

himself "outside of history," is not precisely alone or abandoned,

bring about a spirit of "communion" ; and from this individual act of

but rather "alienated" or "dispossessed." This term is crucial, for

communion, a sense of community will arise.

Murena argues that "dispossession is the essence of the human predicament. " 124 Here again, the parallel with existential terminology

of this relationship or communion with nature is the theme of the final essay in the Pecado original de America. Acutely aware of its

is clear : the notion of man's existence as a search for un lieu, a residence in an alien world, has become a commonplace in the last

significance as a literary motif throughout Spanish America, Murena discards the simplistic subject-object relationship suggested by the

few decades. Implied in this idea too, is the hint that Americans;

phrase "man versus nature." Works such as Giiiraldes' Don Segundo

Sombra and Rivera's novel of the Amazon jungle, La Vordgine, fail to

by dint of their unique, "ahistorical" existence are in some way

reveal the genuine American essence because the natural realm

closer to the bedrock of the human essence. But the crux of Murena's essay is that the terror of "dispossession"-of living without the

The exact character

·

always seems to be "in front of" man as a distinct object.

In the

paternal guidance of a clear historical tradition-leads to an almost

writings of those authors who are successful in their presentation of

pathological escapism. The American-and certainly the Argentine

this relationship-Mallea, the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and

of this century is in mind here-attempts to hide the disturbing fact

presumably Martinez Estrada-nature is omnipresent, but it is

of his alienation by elaborate subterfuges : the pursuit of material

"behind" rather than "in front of" man. In a sense nature has been

comfort, the superficial cultivation of erudition, and many others.

absorbed, assimilated, transcended ; or, to use the term suggested by

He may even feign psychic or physical maladies rather than recognize

Murena, it has been "trans-objectivized." Here, as in his penetrating essay on the current political situation, "El estridor del conform­ ismo, 11 128 Murena has not provided final answers, but instead has

that he is a pariah, "one of the dregs of the earth-the most wretched of the wretched." 125 In the brilliant chapter, "El acoso de la soledad," Murena states : "The awareness that we do not exist and the desire to exist, make us exist falsely. "12 6 To clarify his point he analyzes the cult of falseness in Argentine letters : he condemns a number of important authors for producing what is termed "nationalistic art" rather than genuine "national art." The chief targets for this attack are the "folkloric" writers of the "Martin Fierro" group and their leaders of the twenties, Jorge Luis Borges and Ricardo Giiiraldes. These men, Murena feels, were not genuinely sensitive to the national materials that they rather crudely utilized.

They are writers of the

superficially picturesque, who escape "by the easy route of national123. 124. 125. 126.

H. A. Murena, El pecado original de Amlrica (Buenos Aires, 1958), p. 115. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid., p. 45.

offered thought-provoking alternatives to traditional dilemmas. 127. Ibid., pp. 64-65. 128. See above, Chapter V, pp. 143-45.

•

The Search for Essence

183

grained in national life for centuries. The essay includes chapters on Chilean folklore, music, dance, and the native love of horses.

VII

/ T H E SEA R C H F O R ESSE N C E

Though unquestionably interesting, the

Presencia de Chile

falls

short because of the lack of any unifying insight on the part of the author. There is no attempt to interpret Chilean experience in terms of universal experience; there is no conviction that some mission

IN MEXICO AND ELSEWHERE

some

raison d'etre should

be sought for the nation.

In short, Duran

d

limits himself almost exclusively to the picturesque. Though Chile's

intellectual and literary activity is very substantial, she apparently lacks the passionate commitment to the quest for essence found elsewhere.

This situation prevails despite the fact that she has had

typical "nativist versus cosmopolite" polemics (the subject is dis­ cussed by Ricardo A. Latcham, in a recent article) ,3 fine universities, important literary reviews, and creative writers of great merit. ARGENTINA

HAS

NOT

BEEN

UNIQUE

AMONG

American nations in her concern for self-knowledge.

SPANISH

Although the

discussion in this chapter will be centered on Mexico-unquestionably the northern focus of Spanish American intellectual activity, just as Argentina is the southern focus-a brief examination of the search for essence in Chile, Peru, and Cuba will underscore the fact that this quest is indeed continental in scope. Considering the country's unique physical features it is not surprising that Chilean essayists should be concerned with geography. Indeed, Benjamin Subercaseaux has written an entire essay, �

Chile,

o una geografia loca (1943) , precisely on this subject; and Luis Durand, his Presencia de Chile (1942), introduces his study of chilenidad by

in

a fine essay on Chilean landscape. Durand's book does more than describe the nation's physical aspects ; as such it has greater relevance to our study.

In an effort to probe the national character, Durand

concentrates on analyzing the rural distinctively Chilean

roto.1

The

roto,

criollo,

and particularly the

he feeLc;, combines much of the

"two proud and strong races which formed him" ;2 and, although the

term

rotada

(trick, gambit, scheme) is of recent coinage, Durand

The Andean countries have already been discussed in connection with our analysis of indigenism and radicalism.

In Peru, essayists

such as Antenor Orrego and Jose Carlos Mariategui were especially interested in studying the Indian and his role in modem society. Though they approached Peruvian reality armed with a very specific set of socio-political tenets, their work nonetheless led to a deeper understanding of the national essence in its totality. The radicals were not alone in this undertaking. Among more conservative w1iters, Victor Andres Belaunde-historian, scholar, influential review

Mercurio

and editor of the

Peruano-published his

Meditaciones peruanas in the early twenties and, some two decades later, Peruanidad elementos esenciales (1942) . The Mercurio itself was an important vehicle of peruanidad: the statement of policy published in the journal's first number announced that the Mercurio Peruano was to serve as "the organ of genuine peruanidad" and that it was "to dig deep into the native soil, to penetrate the secrets of . . . past life and to sketch out (Peru's) problems. " Although the

Mercurio

was at times

capable of maintaining considerable tolerance in its views, more often its pages reflected the markedly conservative position of its editor.

spirit to have been deeply in-

Nevertheless Belaunde is no mere propagandist ; as the author of

1. The term "roto" literally means "a broken man." It apparently became common in the period following World War I when the Chilean economy was dealt a severe

an interesting contrast to the Leftist writers we have already discussed.

finds this manifestation of the

roto

blow by the development of the synthetic nitrate industry in the United States. When this happened thousands of destitute workers ("rotos") spread south from the abandoned nitrate fields in the North, creating a class somewhat like the "Okies" and migrant workers of the North American depression years. Gradually, however, the term became generalized in meaning so that it included virtually any one of the poor­ usually Mestizo--classes. 2. Luis Durand, Presencia de Chile (Santiago, 1942), p. 111.

substantial studies in Peruvian history he is well equipped to provide Belaunde begins his earlier essay, the

Meditaciones peruanas,

by

acknowledging the fact that "Peru is sick."4 Like many writers of 3. Ricardo A. Latcham, "La querella de criollismo," Bolivar, No. 34 (Oct., 1954), 563-93. 4. Vfctor Andr�s Belaunde, Medi!acWM$ peruanas (Lima, 1923) , p. 9.

184

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

the period, he accuses his countrymen of "side-tracking national

could be ameliorated by attracting huge numbers of white immi­ grants. 8 To conclude, the Meditaciones peruanas is, as its title suggests, a random collection of thoughts on various national prob­

ideals" ; he speaks of a lack of will, a lack of originality and a lack of enthusiasm among the intellectualil of the day. He credits Gonzalez Prada with having pointed out these same national ills, but he repeatedly attacks him for his negativism, for his simplistic in­ terpretations of Peruvian reality and particularly for his "antire­ ligious dogmatism."5 Belaunde argues (the fact that these ideas were conceived at about the period of World War I must be borne in mind) that while the radicals denigrate all forms of religion, they have themselves merely substituted a rigid "scientific" dogmatism for religious dogmatism. 6 Perhaps some Marxists did "worship" science, as Belaunde claims ; but certainly this view reveals his in­ sensitivity toward those radicals-Mariategui, for example-who exalted the passionate, spiritual, and mystical aspect of the Rev­ olution. Moreover, the fact that "scientific dogmatism" may just as easily be employed to justify a regime of markedly Rightist tendencies, such as that of Dlaz' Mexico, casts further doubt on Belaunde's facile equation of scientism and radicalism. When Belaunde states that the radicals' preoccupation with antireligious propaganda has led them away from an objective study of the Indian, his position is even less tenable. However, his state­ ment that the Leftists' preoccupation with the lower economic classes has produced only a partial view of national problems is more justified. Belaunde's thinking on the Indian, the landholders, and related problems does not follow a typically conservative pattern. He is quite capable of criticizing Peru's "coastal plutocracy" with its absentee landlords, its corruption, and its love of bureaucracy. And, in an essay composed as early as 1915 calling for official governmental action to study and defend the Indian, he appears to be a devoted

indigenista. 7 Although his attitude is tinged with a bit of paternal disdain, he notes the great contributions of the Indians to Peruvian nationhood. In passing he advises his countrymen to accept the ethnic composition of the nation as it is rather than cherish illusions about a massive European immigration which, he feels, will never take place. Very probably Belaunde's advice came as a response to the then popular view, promulgated by his compatriot Francisco Garcia Calder6n, that the "inferiority" of Indian or mestizo nations 5. Ibid., p. 54. . 6. Ibid., pp. 59-60. 7. The essay in question, "La

cuesti6n social en Arequipa," is dated included in Belaunde's Meditaciones peruanas, pp. 130-45.

1915

and is

185

lems ; it has little unity, and there is no intensity in the author's search for the Peruvian essence. However, Belaunde seems to recognize this shortcoming: in an epilogue to a later edition (1932) he notes with concern "the absence of a movement of collective introspection aimed at discovering our profound reality. " 9 This lack is attributed to two causes : the narrow partisanship of both the Right and the Left, and the constant reliance of Peruvian intellectuals on "the ever-changing ideological structures of the European world."10 Despite the promise of its title, Belaunde's essay of 1942, Per­ uanidad, is essentially a defense of the Spanish legacy to the New World. The keynote of the book is found in the opening pages when Belaunde declares "we can conceive of no conflict between Hispanism and indigenism." As in his earlier essay he takes the Leftists to task for not concerning themselves with the Indian's spirituality ; for not dealing with him as a human being, but rather as a scientific problem. By contrast, he lauds the pro-Indian campaign of Las Casas and other liberal Catholics of the colonial period. He argues that the Leftists' complete rejection of colonial culture has led them to formulate a very incomplete concept of peruanidad: the ethical and juridical ideals of Spain are not only part of the historical past but they also deserve to be recognized and incorporated in a modern democratic Peru. Belaunde of course does not emphasize the fact that the indigenism of Las Casas and the "liberal" theologians of Salamanca represent only a minority opinion of sixteenth�century Spanish thought on the subject. The quest for peruanidad, like the quest for chilenidad, has not

produced works which penetrate the inner core of the national

essence. The sharp division between writers of the Left and Right may lie at the root of this situation. In a nation of radical indigenists on one side and conservative Hispanophiles on the other, there is little or no common ground upon which writers may meet. Yet Peru has not suffered any lack of intellectual activity---even by comparison with Argentina or Mexico. Her philosophical essayists include such outstanding figures as Alejandro Deustua, a leader in the revolt against positivism ; Mariano Iberico and Honoria Delgado, both of 8. See above, Chapter II, pp. 26-29. 9. Belaunde, Medi!aciones peruanas, p. 46. 10. Ibid., p. 47.

186

whom were conversant with phenomenology and existentialism at an early date ; and several very capable neothomists, such as Alberto Wagner de Reina.11 Peruvian intellectual life has also been enriched

by j ournals of high quality : the Leftist the conservative

Amauta of the late twenties,

Mercurio Peruano, and short-lived but very sub­ stantial magazine of literary and philosophical essays, Mar del Sur (1948-53) .12 Any discussion o f Cuban intellectual o r literary life must begin

in the very recent past.

Although the island produced great writers

in the nineteenth century-the magnificent figure of Jose Mart!

comes immediately to mind-it is difficult to speak of a distinctively

Cuban literature until the advent of nationhood. Fernando Ortiz

(1881

The work of

) , one of the first major writers to emerge

--

after independence, was noted earlier in connection with our dis­

cussion of race and racism.

187

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Aside from his interests in anthropology·

and ethnology, Ortiz has played an important role in the island's

general intellectual life as the founder of several literary reviews and

especially as the editor of one of the continent's oldest, most respected

upon Mafiach and particularly upon his essay,

lndagaci6n del choteo (1928) , a work which despite its qualities has enjoyed less

fame than Mafiach's celebrated biography of Jose MartL

Spanish Americanists frequently note that the literature of recent decades is characterized by a narrowing focus, by a concentration upon the very specific, the very circumstantial, the very personal. We have witnessed in our own study a gradual shift from the broader Americanism of the turn of the century to a more restricted interest in the nation, and in the individual.

This narrowing of the essayists'

focus does not necessarily lead to a sterile parochialism ; often it may be the very process by which fruitful universal insights are gained. Mafiach's introductory remarks to the

Indagaci6n del choteo bear

this point out : "The very period in which we live . . . demands the re-evaluation of things formerly considered trivial or ridiculous and

prides itself in discovering the significance of the insignificant."15 Citing the sociologist Simmel on the need and value of a "microscopic" study of society, he argues, "There is a vital interest in this. . . . The minute and immediate is what consititutes our surroundings,

journals, the

Revista Bimestre Cubana. Felix Lizaso, in his study of Cuban essayists, notes that as early as 1914, Ortiz was intensely con­ cerned with creating an active sense of cubanidad among his com­

our 'neighborhood,' that with which our existence is in constant contact. . . . "1 6

patriots.13 His speech to the "Sociedad Econ6mica de Amigos del

gates as the possible key to the national essence is the

Pals" is a strong exhortation to the intellectuals that they direct their activities toward this end.

Ortiz' essays of 1914 and 1924, Entre cubanos and La decadencia cubana : Conferencia de renovaci6n patri6tica,

were also composed with a similar objective in mind.14 By the

1920's what may legitimately be called a true generation The founding, in 1927, of the provocative Leftist review A vance marked an important step in the of writers appears on the island.

solidification of this generation's ideals.

Among these writers-the

Avance group-are the essayists Juan Marinello and the late Jorge Maiiach (1898-1961). Marinello is the author of several books related to the search for national essence : among these Sobre la inquietud cubana (1930) and Americanismo y cubanismo literario (1932) are noteworthy. Our attention, however, will be centered 11. For a �od resume of twentieth�entury philosophic trends in Peru see Augusto Salazar Bondy, "Panorama de Ia filosoffa en el Peru en los ultimos 50 ai'ios, " Mar del Sur, V (Dec., 1950), 42-50. 12. A new review bearing the provocative title Peruanidad appeared in the Summer of 1963. 13. Felix Lizaso, Ensayis!all contemportineos (Habana, 1936), pp. 34-41 . 14. See also Fernando Ortiz, "Los factores humanos de Ia cubanidad," Revista Bimestre Cubana, XLV (1940), pp. 165-69.

The particular detail of Cuban character which Mafiach investi­

choteo. In its

common definition the term refers to a general attitude of not taking anything seriously ;17 but upon close scrutiny, Mafiach finds that the

choteo is essentially an act or habit of disrespect, stemming from

a deep-lying repugnance for all authority. Probing further, he finds that in the

choteo there is an element of "subterfuge in the face of choteador expresses, by his seemingly gr�ss and

power" ; that the

pointless ridicule, a state of impotence or of annoyance when con­ fronted by authority.18 Mafiach links this analysis of the

choteo with

a European thinker whom we have already met in a different context :

Max Scheler. In this case, it is the German philosopher's study of resentment to which Mafiach refers : "Isn't it possible that the

choteo,

in its role as a destroyer of values, may be a product of resent­ ment?" he asks.19 In Scheler's work "resentment" is generated when the attempt to realize a value is frustrated ; while the resent­ ment itself leads to the eventual "transvaluation" of the original 15. Jorge Manach Indagacion del choteo (Havana, 1928), p. 6. 16. Ibid., p. 7. 17. Ibid., p. 13. 18. Ibid., p. 29. 19. Ibid., p. 35.

188

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

value. Although Mafiach feels that the Schelerian analysis is helpful, he points out that the choteador may be successful in destroying the value which he attacks by his choteo. The final definition of the term, then, is based on an irrational "affirmation" of the ego : "The choteo is a strong urge for independence which becomes externalized in a joke which is completely destructive of authority. "20 Mafiach views the choteo as

a

product of a definite historical

situation rather than as a constant in the Cuban personality. The liberation of the island from Spanish authority in 1898, he argues, demanded that an "escape valve" for pent-up feelings be found: hence the choteo. Though the historical circumstances which first produced this phenomenon have changed, many traite of Cuban character may still be explained by it. The man who laughs or wise­ cracks during the most touching scene in a movie is a choteador because he prefers to cover up th is vulnerable spot in his nature rather than compromise his "jealously guarded independence" in a show of emotion. Many other examples could be given. Our study of mexicanidad will reveal -some remarkably similar works by essayists who, like Mafiach, are capable of unearthing great riches in a lin­ guistic quirk, a proverb, or a common interjection. . As in the case of Argentina's essayists, the search for national essence often leads to prescription as well as to description. Thus, the Indagacion ends on a plea for the development of a new Cuban culture, characterized by respect, but not coercive respect, and by authentic enthusiasm rather than by the choteo : "The choteo as mental libertinism is on the defensive. The time to be critically light-hearted, correctly audacious, and conscientiously disrespectful

The Search for Essence

189

summation of the course that the search for mexicanidad has taken in the last few decades. These developments, however, are best appreciated in historical perspective. The men of the Generation of the Ateneo, it will be recalled, were imbued with a fervent Americanism, with a compelling desire to refute the values of scientism, and often with a marked sensitivity to the indigenous peculiarities of the New World. The early careers of these writers-Vasconcelos, Caso, Reyes, and the Dominican, Henriquez Ureiia-coincided with the decade of the Mexican Revolution; however the immediacy of the conflict and the chaos of the times prevented them from formulating their views on the Mexican essence before the twenties and thirties. Essays on the Mexican character had been written well before this period : one investigator of the nation's cultural history cites Ezequiel Chavez' study of 1901, "Ensayo sobre los rasgos distintivos de la sensibilidad como factor del caracter mexicano," as perhaps the first effort of this kind in the century.23 Nevertheless, the Chavez work and others like it are either very short or very limited in scope. Since they were written before the traumatic experience of the Revolution they can hardly be expected to reveal the depth which characterizes later essays of this type. The years immediately following the end of hostilities saw Mexicans gradually become aware of a genuine rebirth of the nation. The new Mexico was an enigma and a challenge ; understandably the search for essence acquired a new urgency and greater intensity. The superb poet Ram6n L6pez Velarde reflects this search beautifully in his poems and in his less known prose pieces. Shortly before his death (1921) he wrote:

has arrived. "21 One wonders whether Mafiach might not have thought of these words when he, along with virtually all of Cuba's intellectuals, cast his lot with the Castro regime. That Mafiach felt

ceaselessly entreats us with her deep throaty voice . . . . "24 At roughly

that Castro had not brought about his desired reorientation is

nation : he published his Discursos a la naci6n mexicana (1922), a

evidenced by his criticism of the regime and his subsequent exile from the island.

*

*

*

"Drinking in the atmosphere of her own enigma, the new Patria the same time Antonio Caso was also receptive to the voice of the new work which at least by the similarity of title is reminiscent of Fichte's nineteenth-century essays on German nationalism. Though Caso does not investigate the national character, his book does reflect the

"It is not a question of interpreting that which is Mexican, that

groping, the search for a Mexican mission. His interest, as in his

which gives us our identity as human, but rather the reverse-of

earlier essays, is to develop a strong sense of moral responsibility in

interpreting that which is human as Mexican."22 In this statement,

the Mexican-a sense of heroic, active existence based upon a spirit

the young Mexican essayist Emilio Uranga has provided a succinct

of disinterest.

20. Ibid., p. 41. 21. Ibid p. 88. 22. Emilio Uranga, Anali8is del ser del mexicano (Mexico, 1952), p. 23. .•

23. See Juan Hernlindez Luna, "Primeros estudios sobre el mexicano en nuestro siglo," Filosofla y Letras, XX (Oct.-Dec., 1950), 327. 24. Re.m6n L6pez Velarde, "Noved&d de Ia patria," El Maestro, I (April, 1921), 61.

190

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

It is a commonplace that the early history of a group of people exerts much influence on their future development. But with the diffusion of psychoanalytic theory-particularly with the spread of Adler's concepts of the complexes and Rank's analysis of the birth trauma-the well-worn phrase "birth of a nation" took on added significance.

The work of Samuel Ramos, which was discussed

earlier in connection with the neohumanist movement, must be approached against this background. His essay of 1934, the Perfil

hombre

y

del la cultura en Mexico, is placed squarely within the psycho­

191

of the specific masks which the Mexican has adopted : vanity, bragadoccio, exaggerated individualism, and the like. After a short discussion of "French Influence in the 19th Century" -a theme related to his thesis only in that the slavish imitation of European culture may be thought of as another typical mask-Ramos further develops the main lines of his argument.

Following the

psychoanalytic method, he observes that only by facing the truth, by airing the trauma which has produced the given complex, can it be

analytic frame of reference : "Modem psychological doctrines teach

understood and thus removed. Again he makes clear his debt to

us that it is not possible to define the personality of an individual if

Adler, claiming that "what is proposed for the first time in this

Thus we

essay is the methodical utilization of this old observation, but

must go back to the beginnings of our history. . . . "25 The basic fact

rigorously applying the psychological theories of Adler to the Mexican

we do not know about certain childhood experiences. . . .

pelado-­ pelado

of Mexico's birth, and here Ramos reiterates the ideas of both Alfons()

case. "28 Ramos' study of the Mexican is centered upon the

Reyes and Waldo Frank, is that Mexicans were "invited to civili­

the poor, lower-class, uneducated Mexican male.

zation's banquet when the table had already been served." Ramos

"an explosive being" whose "explosions" are usually verbal.

feels that this situation, together with the overwhelming effect of

pelado will typically resort to strong language and especially to a rich

nature in the New World, produced in the early Mexican a sense of

vocabulary of phallic terms to express his violent natur,e.

being "lost," of being swallowed up in an alien world.

touchy, defensive, and exhibits a marked lack of confidence in his

led, in tum, to a sense of inferiority.

These feelings

The other participant in the

He calls the

dealings with others. All of this, as one might expect,

The He is

is viewed as a

national birth trauma, the Indian, also receives much attention.

mask for his deep-seated sense of inferiority.

Ramos does not accept the notion that the Indian's passivity-or

the

what he interprets as "rigidity"-is simply the result of the treatment

patriotism and in the cultivation of a national mythology based on

given him by the conqueror.

Rather, he argues that this char­

acteristic was apparent in the pre-Columbian Indian.

Ramos denies

In his attempt to play

valiente (the "tough guy"), the Mexican will indulge in blatant

power and

hombria (manliness). Moreover, he will deceive himself

into accepting the reality of the false image which he has created.29

pelados are not the only victims of this self-deception;

any inferiority in the Indian but he does hold to a notion of fixed

The poor

native "differentness," which, "as if by magic," has spread to all

Ramos argues that even the more sophisticated bourgeoisie has been

Mexicans.26 This "rigidity, " working in conjunction with the in­ feriority complex, makes the modem Mexican fundamentally in­

contaminated. They too have accepted "archetypes as stimulants to overcome the problems and difficulties of life."30 Ramos' approach

flexible and highly resistant to any demand that he alter his nature.

to the Mexican essence provides a striking parallel with the work of

However, and this point has provided much leavening for later

several non-Mexican essayists already discussed : his study of the

mexicanidad, the Mexican will adopt "masks" which

inferiority complex, for example, is quite reminiscent of Martinez

produce a superficial change in his character while preserving his

Estrada's treatment of the same theme ; and the following passage

unalterable "spiritual bedrock."27 This bedrock, the Mexican's sense

cannot fail to recall Mallea's discussion of the

of inferiority, is the ultimate term in Ramos' analysis, although it is

Mafiach's dissection of the Cuban

never accepted as anything more real than a psychological complex.

of the Argentinian who is incapable of "giving himself" : "Each

Ramos concludes the opening chapter of the Perfil by noting a number

individual lives shut up within himself, like an oyster in his shell, in

studies of

25. Samuel Ramos, El perfil del hombre y la cultura en M�xico (Mexico, 1934), p. 30. 26. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 27 !IJid., p. 39. 0

28. Ibid., p. 67. 29. Ibid., p. 85. 30. Ibid., p. 89.

argentino viSt"ble, choteador, or Estrada's critique

192

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

an attitude of mistrust toward others, exuding evil, so that no one will come too close."ai In his chapter on "La cultura criolla" Ramos comes to grips with familiar que.�tions of nativism versus Europeanism. Taking positi­ vism as an example of a European doctrine poorly applied to Mexican conditions, he notes that this movement exaggerated the obvious falseness of the national character by suppressing, without replacing, the essential religiosity of the people.

Once forced into the sub­

conscious, this element in the Mexican's make-up asserted itself

as

the adoration of science, as an acceptance of "scientific super­ stition."32 His countrymen, Ramos feels, should be willing to use European intellectual tools, but "in harmony" with Mexican culture. Ramos, like Alfonso Reyes-whom he cites approvingly in the Perfil-argues that this cultural heritage is essentially Spanish ; that_ it mu!>t nevertheless be ·adapted to the realities of Mexican life; and that the exalted indigenism of the postrevolutionary period could, if not properly understood, prove as faL'le as was the imitation of Europe during the nineteenth century.33

In a tone reminiscent of

Reyes and perhaps of Rod6 (whom he also singles out as one of the few writers to have understood the relationship of the Old World to the New), he points out the sterility of the polemic between "national­ ists" and "Europeanizers." He observes : "the Europeanizers are in error, because they do not see European culture from Mexico, but rather they see Mexico from Europe."M The final chapters of Ramos' essay are concerned directly with

193

are finally discovered, "in that very instant his work will acquire universal transcendence.' '36 The fact that Ramos set forth these thought'l on

mexicanidad as

early as 1934 is as significant as the ideas themselves.

In fact, one

important section of the Perfil appeared in the review Contempordneos some two years before the complete essay was published. To my

mexicanidad comparable in scope or pene­ Perfil appeared until the late forties and early fifties,

knowledge no studies of tration to the

when an important group of writers picked up the threads of Ramos' work. The professional philosopher will easily find weak points in Ramos' intellectual armor ; indeed, in a recent analysis of contem­ porary Mexican thought Abelardo Villegas has pointed out serious flaws in Ramos' understanding of the concept of values.

Yet the

same critic readily admits the historical significance of Ramos' work : " . . . the great merit of Ramos consists in his having removed the discussion of our problems from the realm of the very physical and very concrete . . . to a higher, psychological plane. . . . Ramos holds that the crisis of our problems and its solution resides in a certain way of thinking. . . . Therefore a philosophy such as. his . . . acquires major dimensions ; the solution of the problems of our situation must grow out of serious reflection, out of the clash of ideas."37 Ramos published the

Perfil in 1934, and despite the provocative

ideas presented in the work, the theme of mexicanidad-or lo mexicano as its cultivators choose to call it-apparently lapsed into oblivion for over a decade.

It is easier to explain its reappearance in the late

forties then it is to account for its absence. A possible explanation for

the Mexican as an individual. Echoing one of his favorite mentors,

the resurgence of the theme lies in the indirect experience of World

Max Scheler, he states that "the ultimate objective of human

War II.

activity [or "spiritual activity," to use the Schelerian term] is not the

of European culture," as Villegas does,38 clearly the horrors of war,

Though it may be an overstatement to speak of "the collapse

products of culture, but rather the development of personality."35

coupled with the ominous confrontation of East and West in the

Above all, he calls for an attitude of individual sincerity, of honesty :

postwar period, made Latin Americans-and particularly Mexicans

Mexicans must "have the courage to be themselves. " Ramos

--question Europe's ability to maintain its position as the torchbearer

repeatedly makes the point that the national culture be understood

of Western civilization. It is understandable that such doubts

as "universal culture made ours, " and that the only way to achieve

should lead to a turning inward and to a marked increase in the

this synthesis is to recognize that which is e<Jsentially Mexican. For

study and cultivation of everything American.

example the artist who wishes to achieve universality in his work

It would be inaccurate, however, to say that the theme of lo mexicano had completely disappeared during the decade or so fol­

must search his being for his "most individual notes. " When these 31. Ibid. 32. Ibid., 33 . Ibid., 34. Ibid., 35. Ibid., .

p. p. p. p. p.

91 .

109.

96.

133.

155.

lowing the publication of Ramos' essay : Vasconcelos and Caso, for 36. Ibid., pp. 157-58.

37. Abelardo Villegas, La filosof!a de lo mexicano 38. Ibid., p. 137.

(Mexico, 1960),

pp. 135-36.

195

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

exa�ple, continued to probe at least the periphery of the subject;

since man has been man and will not change as long as the species

194

and m 1938 Ramos himself published a second edition of the Perfil containing additional material. But by the thirties Vasconcelos

exists."41 Reyes' impressive prose and good intentions notwith­

seems to draw away from the mainstream of Mexican intellectual life to devote himself to a rather sectarian defense of his religious

considered a description of reality. Yet its implications are clear :

beliefs ; and Caso, while continuing to produce works of merit, ap­

is the

parently made his major contributions in the decade following the

Mexican culture.

Revolution. The case of Alfonso Reyes is,

standing, this scheme is merely an analogy and as such it cannot be the discovery and cultivation of that which is distinctively Mexican

The increasing tempo of Mexican intellectual activity from the

however, different.

Reyes has shown a constant interest in discovering what he would

sine qua non for the establishment of a genuinely universal

·

end of the thirties and through the late forties resulted in part

call distinctly Mexican "alternatives and specialities," although he

from the arrival of the Spanish Republican refugees and their gradual

His most important essays centered on

mexicanidad as a formal problem. lo mexicano were Vision de Andhuac (1917) and "Discurso por Virgilio" (1933), both composed

Certainly such powerful philosophical Ininds as those of Jose Gaos

well before the period under consideration. During the thirties he was almost constantly away from Mexico, yet he maintained a lively ­

to appear. Of the generation of intellectuals who reached maturity

seldom attacked the question of

interest in

mexicanidad, as the pages of his own little j ournal, Mon­

terrey, witness.39 For a writer of Reyes' classical bent, however, the problem of isolating mexicanidad and finding its relationship to "universal man" cannot be considered crucial. His essay of the early forties, "Posici6n de America," illustrates his thinking on the matter. Borrowing a scheme from the American anthropologist Ralph Linton, Reyes describes any culture as having four distinct "factors"

or "leveL'! " : universals,

specialities,

alternatives,

and

peculiarities. To show the relationship between these he suggests a figure of concentric circles, with universals and specialities occupying the inner areas, as a nucleus. The outer edges of the figure are the alternatives and peculiarities, which are envisioned as whirling about

incorporation into the nation's literary, scientific, and artistic life. and David Garcia Bacca helped spark the activity which was soon in the forties, one of the first to reflect the resurgence of interest in

) . Zea, a student of Gaos,

mexicanidad was Leopoldo Zea (1912

--

is best known for his essays dealing with the intellectual history of Mexico and of Spanish America. Such works as El positivismo en Mexico (1943), Apogeo y decadencia del positivismo (1944), and Dos etapas del pensamiento en Hispanoambica (1949) have become classics of their genre.

Zea's interests in historicism and in philo­

sophical method have led him more toward the consideration of

mexicano as a methodological problem than as

a

lo

field for charactero­

logical analysis. His examination of the possibility of a genuine New World culture and his studies on the relationship of Europe and America are similarly directed. Throughout his work, but more noticeably in his earlier essays, the perspectivism of Ortega-perhaps

the nucleus. Most important, "we can say that the essence of

as interpreted by Gaos-figures prominently. Thus in a · J'iece

culture is nourished in a centripetal manner and that it.c; energy is brought from the periphery to the nucleus."40 Although Reyes is

en la historia

not particularly concerned with Mexico in this essay, it would be easy to apply the scheme he outlines to the question of

lo mexicano.

The outer rim of the circle would be composed of varying degrees of Mexican "alternatives and peculiarities." At the center of the cultural diagram would be the universals, in some mysterious way nourished by the centripetal force of the outer rings, and yet essentially the same at all times and in all placec; : "some things . . . have not changed 39. For a discussion of this journal see Manuel Olgu!n' Alfomo Reyea' e1111ayi8ta (Mexico, 1956), pp. 76-'iS. 40. Alfonso Reyes, "Posici6n de America" in Obra8 Completa3 de Alfomo Reyea (Mexico, 1956), XI, 257.

composed in

1942 and incorporated into his Ensayos sobre jilosofia (1948), he states : "In attempting to resolve the problems

of man whatever be his place in space or in time, we shall have to take ourselves as we are as our point of departure; we must begin with our own circmnstance . . . conscious of our abilities as members of this cultural community called humanity, and of our limitations as children of one circumstance. . . "42 .

The crisis of Western culture has come to occupy a very central position in Zea's thought of recent years. Inextricably linked with his Mexicanist concern is the idea that Spanish America in general, and Mexico in particular, may well be called upon to salvage the 41. Ibid., p. 258. 42. Leopolda Zea, Ensayos sobre fiwsofla

en

la historia (Mexico, 1948), p. 177.

196

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

remains of occidental humanism. In such essays as La filosofia como compromiso (1952) and in America en la conciencia de Europa (1955) he has explored the possibilities of a future ecumenical role for Latin America : citing Northrop's The Meeting of East and West, Zea suggests that the ethnic and cultural miscegenation of Latin America equips the continent to serve as a bridge between the

Western nations and the renascent cultures of the Orient.43

Zea

fears that the leading Western power, the United States, by virtue of its Puritan tradition ("a Christianity for individuals who strive

to be out':ltanding by dint of their abilities and at the expense of those whom they consider less able"44 may well be incapable of carrying on the humanist tradition and thus may fail in the great task of "realizing the only worthwhile kind of history ; the history of

mankind. A history from which no people nor no man must be ex­ cluded."45 If Latin America is to achieve this goal, and

if Mexico is to participate in it, then the basic questions of the circunstancia must be answered.

Zea feels, moreover, that to achieve universality a

group must be able to comprehend other groups; that to do this a

people must recognize its own particular gift or "contribution" to mankind : "all peoples always have something to say, something to contribute to the world's experience; and the universality of this contribution is found in the capacity of these peoples to make them­

selves understood and to understand others.

The failure to realize

this is what has incapacitated men . . . with regard to that which is universal ; they shut themselves up behind locked doors where they become steadily narrower until they die in complete solitude."46 Carrying Zea's point somewhat further it follows that not only

Mexicans must seek to discover themselves and their possible con­ tributions to the human synthesis, but that we must generalize the idea and say that all peoples must pursue a similar course if they wish

to achieve genuine universality. As Villegas observes : "This is the supreme paradox of the philosophy of

lo mexicano ; when we Mexicans

become aware of our limited, circumstantial existence, it signifies that we are aware of ourselves as universally human. "47 Zea's stature as a mentor of contemporary thought in his country cannot be overemphasized.

As one of the leading professors at the

National University he has been training a generation of superb 43. Leopoldo Zea, A mmca en la conciencia de Europa (Mexico, 1955), p. 173.

44. /bid., p. 176.

45. /bid. 46. Cited by Villegas, Filosof£a de lo mexicano p. 139. 47. Villegas, Filosofia de lo mericano, p. 147.

197

The Search for Essence scholars. One of these, Abelardo Villegas,

pays him eloquent tribute Filosofia de lo mexicano (1960) simply by

throughout the pages of his

demonstrating, politely and brilliantly, the intellectual independence of the stu dent from the teacher. Lastly, Zea has pl ayed an important role as the "godfather" of the circle.

Hiperion

literary and philosophical

As we shall see, some of the most interesting studies of

mexicanidad to date mexicano, written by

editorship.

have appeared in the collection

Mexico

y

lo

various members of the group and under Zea's

But before exploring the thought of the

Hiperion writers

and of Octavio Paz, who was closely associated with the grou p, the

hazards inherent in attempting to discover the "ontology of the Mexican"-his distinct essence-must be considered. Jose Gaos has

very astutely pointed out the fundamental l ogical pitfall : "It is a question of defining or discovering the essence of the Mexican.

this one must be viewing this essence. Mexicans themselves. . . .

To

It cannot be seen except

�o m

In order to observe it in these people it is

necessary to know that they are Mexican, in contrast to other people

in general. is. . . .

And to know this, implies (knowing) what a Mexican

A vicious circle."48

Octavio Paz

(1914

)

--

is unique among present-day Mexican

writers in that, although primarily a poet, he has made substantial contributions to contemporary letters as an essayist.

As might be

expected, his essays often deal with problems of poetics and aesthet­ ics -49 however Paz has also written several studies dealing with lo . . ' ' the most important of which are gathered to�ether m hiS

mexicano,

widely read volume,

El laberinto de la soledad (1950) . mexicanidad a

brings to bear upon the question of

In his essays Paz

fine poetic sensi­

bility, a rich literary experience, and a dazzling talent for blending elements of prose and poetry together on the same page.

rinto de la soledad

The

Labe­

has already gone through several printings, a

surprising achievement for a work of its type and one which attests Paz' importance.

The fact that many Mexican writers of the most

recent generation--essayists such as Emilio Uranga-have dedicated their studies on

mexicanidad

to him gives further evidence of Paz'

dominant position in the nation's intellectual life. 50 Perhaps more 48. Jose Gaos, En torno a la filosof£a mexicana (Mexico, 1952), p. 21, as quoted by Villegas, Filosojfa de lo mexicano, p. 183. . . 49. Paz' two major works in this field are FJl arco y la hra (MeXIco, 1956), and LIJ8 peras del olmo (Mexico, 1957). . . 50. For further discussion of. I;'az' influence on h1s compa�no see Geo�ge Gor?on Wing, "Octavio Paz, Poetry, Poht1cs and the Myth of the MeXIcan (Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, 1960), pp. 10-14.

t;':

198

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

than any other Mexican, Paz is recognized abroad. In France he is well known among the Surrealists ; in the United States portions of his

able concomitant of his very existence is never clearly indicated. However, an interesting parallelism between the existential theme of alienation and the psychoanalytic theories of the birth trauma, popularized by Otto Rank in the twenties, is evident here. Much of Paz' poetry as well as his prose suggests either a literal belief in the birth trauma, or at least an acceptance of it as a very meaningful symbol. Returning to Paz' derivation of politics from poetics, there

Laberinto were first featured in the Evergreen Review's Eye of Mexico, and recently the complete work has appeared in English translation. Paz himself has traveled widely in Europe and the Orient ; at present, he is Mexico's ambassador to India. Paz' earliest essayistic work appeared in 1929 and 1930 in the review Crisol. These articles-dealing with probleins of Mexican . land tenure-are interesting chiefly in that they demonstrate that

is an implicit equation between "the poetic realm" (lo po�tico) and that which is essentially and rightfully human. The poetic state, like the prenatal state and certain other states, is not only "disinter­ ested" but passive ; man's authentic being "flows" outward during

despite his "cosmopolitanism" Paz' concern for things Mexican is deeply rooted. During the thirties, when he was gaining recognition as a poet, he produced a number of curious prose pieces which were

those moments when he is not doing something directed toward an external end. It is as if Paz were saying that the individual must stop, must cease to exercise his will (will not to will?) in order that he may truly exist. The mainstream of occidental philosophy of course runs counter to these notions. Similarly, the values of modem technological society are opposed to them. Paz' critique of "bourgeois-capitalist" culture, while it has the ring of a typically

published in the ephemeral reviews Barandal, Taller, Ruta, and later in El Hijo Pr6digo. These writings-and they defy precise literary classification-provide an insight into the genesis of many of tlie fundamental attitudes which were later expanded in his major essays. Titled "Vigilias : Fragmentos del diario de un soiiador," they explore several themes : man's·existence in a fundamentally alien world, the redemptive function of Eros, and the rationalistic view of the world

Leftist attack of the thirties, is based upon these views of the human essence. Paz' radicalism was in effect an attack upon the values of

versus the irrationaL A host of questions related to these philo­ sophic themes, but dealing specifically with aesthetics, are also considered: poetry as a method for the discovery of truth, the ambivalent position of the novel, the relationship of prose to poetry, etc.

Specific concem for lo mexicano is absent in his work of this

period. Yet Paz did not escape to the ivory tower : his political position was often expressed in writing as well as in deed. What must be stressed is that this aspect of Paz' thought as well as his recent quest for mexicanidad are derived from his world-view, and particu­ larly from the role accorded therein to poetry. 51 Some pertinent examples of this relationship may be observed in the "vigilias. " A basic idea is that poetic activity is an act of "pure disinterest"-an unconditioned, unteleological expression of the human essence. The realm of poetic activity, lo po�tico as Paz calls it, is in sharp contrast

199

I

1

1

activity, of work for work's sake, of progress, and of acquisition ;53 all of these destroy man's essence by denying him the realm of the poetic. The erotic mystique and its corollary idea of communion occupy a very crucial place in Paz' thinking. Like poetry, intense erotic experience makes man one with his genuine essence ; such experience,

I l

moreover, resolves the individual's solitude into communiorr. In

\

sex act leads to-or is itself-a communion, a partaking of the flesh

1

support of these ideas Paz cities Novalis' views of the sexual urge as a "disguised desire for human flesh," and of woman as "the highest form of bodily sustenance."54 For Paz the physical fusion of the of all living things,

a

way back to the primordial, undifferentiated,

atemporal ground of Being : "In love the couple endeavors to par­

to the world as it is-the world of purposeful activity, the world

ticipate once again in that state in which life and death, need and

rationally conceived, which is viewed as an alien place, "mute,

satisfaction, sleep and action, words and images, time and space, the

indifferent, irreparably strange."52 Whether the "world as it is" is a

fruit and the lip, are all fused into one reality."55 Paz' essays

corrupted paradise, or whether man's alienation in it is an unavoid-

frequently place the reader on a narrow frontier between rational

51. My view of the relationship between Paz' poetry and politics parallels Wing's thinking on the subject: see note 50 above. 52. Octavio Paz, "Vigilias: Fragmentos del diario de un soflador," Taller, I (Dec., 1938), 3.

53. Paz, "Vigilias," Taller, I (Dec., 1939), 16ff. 54. Octavio Paz, "Poesfa de soledad y poesfa de comuni6n," El Hijo Pr6digo, I

(August, 1945), 273. 55. Ibid., p. 272.

200

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

prose analysis and an only partially comprehensible zone of sur­ realistic chaos.

His technique of mixing prose and poetry is often

extremely effective, although considerable demands are made upon

the reader for rapid accommodation to his shifting styles. On one page of the "Vigilias," in a straightforward prose discussion of D. H. Lawrence's contribution to the understanding of the erotic, he states : "its objective is communion : therefore it [Lawrence's eroticism] does not attempt to create a moral code, but a religion." He then goes on to note that "the profound hope of communism is not dissimilar, for it seek'3 fraternity, the active communion of those who are des­ perate, as well as the disinherited. "56 A few lines beyond these, however, his poetic muse takes command and the reader finds him­ self involved in an intensely personal prose poem : "Your eyes open, as if to devour me.

I sink into them. And, suddenly, they no longer

exist, nor do I, a ship�eck like you, you who disappear attached to

me, melted. . . .

·we lose our names, our form, our feelings, every­

thing that illusorily gives us individuality, and we are naked, divested of everything . . . in this absolute nudity . . . of our hidden, impalp­ able condition."57 Paz feels that the genuinely erotic, like the the genuinely poetic, are disinterested, "non-productive," irrational activities and could never be accommodated to the values of bourgeois-capitalist society. The conviction that either this society must reject them, or that they must be distorted to suit the demands of the "establishment," is

�

implicit in much of Paz' work. And since th� cu tivation of lo p�eti�o and

lo er6tico are indispensable for the realizatiOn of that whwh

IS

essentially human, it follows that the achievement of this ultimate objective is profoundly frustrated in the contemporary Western world. Given this rejection of things as they are, what_positive positions are open to a thinker such as Paz? Clearly he must be a revolutiona�,

and at least during much of the thirties, Paz did embrace the Th1rd In

�rnational.

But after certain historical events-the Moscow trials

and his own participation in the Spanish Civil War, he abandoned orthodox communism for the less rigid, but more radical camp of

201

is not surprising that cultures far removed in time, space, and basic philosophy should attract him.

He has consistently shown an

appreciation for oriental philosophy, for the Dionysian religions of the ancient world and for primitive myth and ritual.

To clarify

how Paz incorporates these varied elements into an integrated view of reality would be a challenging task, but one which we shall leave undone in order to pursue the matter of

mexicanidad in his essays.

Paz confesses at the out.'let of the Laberinto de la soledad that for many years the concern for defining the uniqueness of lo mexicano appeared to him to be "superfluous and dangerous."59 It was his opinion that a creative work, be it literary or graphic, could do more to define the Mexican essence than any direct attempt to describe

it. This attitude explains, at least in part, why overt treatment of the theme of mexicanidad is virtually nonexistent in his prose before

1950. Another probable explanation may be found in his adherence to the internationalism of the Left. By the mid-forties a change in attitude is in evidence.

Paz could, if the conditions demanded it,

not only be interested in the national essence, but also play the role of the staunch defender of

mexicanidad. His break with the great

radical poet of Chile, Pablo Neruda--clearly one of his most impor­ tant poetic mentors-illustrates this point dramatically. 60 Paz conceived of the

Laberinto while on a trip to the United

States. Although it would be unfair to maintain that the essay is merely a justification of Mexicanism produced under the pressure of the antithetical Yankee ethos, it is well to remember that relations between the Mexican-Americans in the Southwest and the non-Latin population of the area were quite strained in the late forties. Indeed, Paz' interest in discovering what it was about the

pachuco which

made him an immiscible element in the North American melting pot, provides the point of departure for the entire book. 61 It was this curious experience of noting the vaguely defined

mexicanidad which

seemed to "float in the air" of Los Angeles which led Paz to ask "the same questions that Samuel Ramos asked himself in the Perfil.

.

. . "62

It must be made clear, however, that Paz had not proposed to write

the Surrealists. ss Since Paz' critique of existing conditions is directed

a formal study of Mexican character.

specifically at the bourgeois, highly advanced societies of the West, it

59. Octavio Paz El laberinto de la soledad (2" edici6n; Mexico, 1959), p. 10. 60. See Wing, Odavio Paz, pp. 94-97 for a good description of this affair. . 61. Paz, Laberinto, pp. 12-16. The term pach� refers to the youth of �ex1�n . origin living in the southweste� part of the Umted �tates, particularly Cahfornta. The term is clearly deprecatory: 1t became common durmg World War II as the name for Spanish-speaking juvenile delinquents-the "zoot-suiters"-of the Los Angeles area. 62. Paz, Laberinto, p. 12.

56. Paz, "Vigilias," Tierra Nueva, II (Jan.-April, 1941), 38.

57. /bid., pp. 39-40. . 58. See Wing, Octavia Paz, pp. 24-58. :Wing observe� that paz. soon rea11zed that . , the success of the Revolution--even the kind of revolut1on for which the Surrealists yearned-was becoming "increasingly more improbable."

Some years after having

202 published the

Laberinto

203

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

he said of the book: "It does not deal with

the psychology of the Mexican ; rather it is a description of a vital

Hence the case of the

pachuco

who must attract his persecutors.

When Paz shifts his attention from the

pachuco to the Laberinto, he analyzes

ordinary

historical rhythm (that of the dialectic of solitude and communion)

Mexican, as he does early in the

at one time and in one people."63 He asserts, moreover, that his study

deliberate techniques employed by the Mexican to obscure his sense

first the

is to be thought of as tentative, as "circumstantial," to use an

of "solitude-sin." Paz then studies the inadvertent indications of

Orteguian term.

genuine

The first chapter of the character of the

pachuco;

Laberinto

deals specifically with the

although Paz sympathizes with him, he

states that he is not interested in the

pachuco

per se.

The reason for

studying him, Paz claims, is that he represents one possible extreme of Mexicanism : an extreme which

is very revealing since the pachuco

mexicanidad

which crop up in language, customs, and folk­

lore. A listing of the subterfuges which the Mexican uses to hide

his

radical aloneness (and his concomitant feelings of insufficiency, vulnerability, etc.) provide a rich description of the national character. The Mexican tries to defend his intimacy by being

ensimismado

or

self-contained; or he cultivates a code of not "opening himself up,"

when persecuted (presumably by the police or by belligerent North

of not allowing the exterior world to penetrate his intimate being.

American street gangs) "achieves his authenticity, his true being, the supreme nakedness of a pariah, of a man who belongs nowhere.'�64

He who permits this penetration is looked upon as something less

Paz views the pachuco 's pose in Yankee society as that of a "challenge" :

mores are consistent with this fear of being vulnerable, of being

than a man.

The Mexican's attitudes toward women and his sexual

he wishes to stand out so that his persecutors may better see their

"open to attack.'' Hence the "openness" of the female must be

prey, for only by being attacked and harassed does he enter into any

viewed as a defect, as an imperfection if not an evil.

sort of intimate contact with the world about him : "Persecution

further protects himself by a complex system of formalities and

The Mexican

redeems him and breaks his solitude: his salvation depends upon

"courtesies" ; and his tendency to lie is more a self-deception than a

gaining access to the very society he seems to deny. Solitude and sin,

deception of others. 66 Perhaps most important, he is a "dissimulator,"

communion and health become equivalent terms."65 Two propo­

one whose mimetic talents are of such an order that he loses his own

sitions underlie this analysis. In the first place, although the pachuco's

identity completely in his desire to blend into his surroundings. 67

radical isolation-his solitude-is to a degree explicable in terms of

He becomes, to use Paz' ingenious figure, Mr. Nobody

his environment, Paz always considers solitude as a basic condition

being so unidentifiable that he even treats himself "as a nobody."

of man or, better stated, as one term in a dialectical view of human

So general is this Mexican trait of self-negation that there is a strange

existence.

pall of nothingness over the land: "stronger than our pyramids and

Secondly, he posits this dialectic of "solitude-communion"

as a universal process by which the individual does not simply become aware of his genuine essence, but actually creates this essence. In Paz' essay, solitude (perhaps the English word "aloneness" trans­ lates

soledad

better) occupies a position somewhat analogous to

"inferiority" in Ramos' earlier work.

Man in general, and the

Mexican in particular, is not necessarily aware of his solitude. He is even less aware of his need for communion, for resolving the im­ perfection of his aloneness into the state of wholeness or health characteristic of communion. Not only does the

pachuco

fail to

appreciate this process, but more important, he intentionally tries to "cover up" his solitude by methods that ironically may be sub­ conscious attempts to resolve the solitude-communion 63. Cited by Wing, Octa!M Paz, p. 77. 64. Paz, Laberinto, p. 16. 65. [IJid.

dialectic.

(Ninguno) ,

a

sacrifices, than our churches, our popular songs and uprisings, a

silence older than history again reigns in our land. " 68

Paz' discussion of the inadvertent indicators of Mexican character is equally interesting.

In the third chapter of the

Laberinto

the

national love for the fiesta is discussed as a ritual during which "the Mexican does not amuse himself : he wishes to transcend himself, to scale the wall of solitude which isolates him during the rest of the year. "69 The term "ritual" as applied to the fiesta is not to be taken lightly.

Paz is well acquainted with contemporary theories regarding

the nature of myth and the function of ritual.

This is seen in his

knowledgeable citation of writers such as Malinowski, Frazer, and 66. 1/Jid., 67. 1/Jid., 68. Ibid., 69. Ibid.,

pp. 26-38. p. 38. p. 41. p. 44.

204 Hume (all in the

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

Arco

y la

Lira) , as well as in his approach to the

specific nature of the Mexican fiesta : "Everything takes place in a

205

neither does he accept completely the modern scientific view. Though he may, like the typical North American or European, fear death, he nonetheless prefers to meet it quickly "face to face, with disdain or

magic world : time is other time (situated in a mythic past or in pure present-ness) ; the space in which it takes place changes in nature,

irony." This attitude is partially a result of his denigration of life­

it becomes detached from the rest of the Earth, it is bedecked and converted into a 'festival place' . . . . "70 The analysis of the fiesta as

cleat

ritual helps illumine Paz' conception of being and existence.

The

individual Mexican who "scales the wall" of his aloneness and enters into the fiesta's communion is, as Paz puts it, returning "to a remote and undifferentiated, prenatal or presocial state, so to speak."71 There is a fascinating vagueness about the phrase "so to speak"

(por decirl,o as!) in this contest. Is Paz speaking metaphorically, or does he hold to the view that there is-or was-another world existing parallel to "the real world"? Certainly this is the sall}e realm to which poetry leads us-the atemporal state of wholeness, of primordial being where such terms as "the one" and "the all" seem to lose all meaning. Perhaps Paz should not be pressed into answering such questions ; for even when he is writing prose he is a

his sense of being "nobody."

�

The apparently offhand mocking of

(the custom of eating candy skulls during the fiesta, the

burrung of firecracker skeletons, etc.) becomes an expression of the worthlessness of life. As Paz puts it, the Mexican shrugs his shoulders asking, "why should I care about death if I don't care about life?"73 The Mexican, unlike the Aztec or the contemporary primitive who may have a similar cosmology, cannot "give himself over"

(entregarse)

to death because this entails a sacrifice, an "opening himself up" to someone or something exterior. Furthermore, the contemporary Mexican-despite his heritage from the Aztec-is not a primitive, and hence cannot really look upon death as a "ritual passage." There is, however, one way in which the Mexican may make death a vehicle for communion : he may, in a moment of passion, commit murder. Murder is of course a crime, but in contrast to the im­

poet at heart, and his work is grounded upon a fundamentally poetic

personal slaughter of modern warfare or the mass extermination

vision of the world. The specific fiesta upon which Paz focuses his attention is the

the discussion on a very unorthodox note : "For us crime is still a

Dfa de Difuntos (all Saint's Day), a holiday particularly interesting since it combines a spirit of unrestrained merrymaking with the remembrance of the

deceased. The common

people's

attitude

toward death provides another fascinating passage through his labyrinth, for here again the Mexican's essence is revealed. Paz points out that in most advanced Western societies death no longer has any significance beyond that of a rationally understood terminus of biological existence. And in present day Mexico even the educated and sophisticated share this view. For the pre-Columbian Indian and for the orthodox Catholic (Paz treats both as extinct species) , death was quite another matter. Although the cosmology of these two groups was profoundly different, "in both systems life and death have no autonomy; they are the two faces of the same coin of reality. All their meaning is derived from other values which control them. They are references to invisible realities. "72 Despite the fact that the contemporary Mexican (excluding of course the sophisticate) does not consciously hold to this notion of 70. Ibid., p. 45. 71. Ibid., p. 46. 72. Ibid., p. 51.

a

"life-death unity,"

practiced in police states, it is a "humanized" act.

Paz concludes

relationship-and in this sense it has the same liberating significance of the Fiesta or of confession-Hence its drama, its poetry, and­ why not say it outright-its grandeur."74 Paz' ability to probe the smallest details of Mexican life and to extract from these insights into the national character is very well demonstrated in his analysis of the mala palabra-the strong language of insult, curse, and invective. It will be recalled that others have found this kind of linguistic psychology rewarding : in Mexico, Paz' direct predecessor was Samuel Ramos, who in his Perfil analyzed the inferiority complex of the

del hombre pelado on the basis of his

compensatory use of phallic terms. For Paz, however, obscene words are

more

than simple psychological mechanisms.

They

comprise the "only living language in a world of anemic words­ poetry within the reach of everybody."75 And most important, these words "confusedly reflect our interior nature . . . . " Paz frequently refers to the obscene as a "social language," a:> a set of terms imbued with ritualistic magic. 73. Ibid., p. 53. 74. Ibid., p. 55. 75. Ibid., p. 67.

206

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The specific word which he analyzes, in all its Mexican shadings and variants, is the verb

chingar (to rape, to violate) . Why should this particular term be so valuable a key to lo mexicano? The answer is found in the fact that, aside from its literal meaning, the basic relationship denoted by the word is one of violence, of "forcible penetration

into

another. . . . "76 Although

the

verb

is

always·

"tinged with sexuality" its significance goes beyond the merely

207

patterns among all men, Paz chooses to concentrate his efforts on the specifically Mexican version of this one very basic myth. By stating clearly that he is attempting to isolate "a few traits and emotions which illuminate the universal condition of man by means of a par­ ticular light,"79 he is free to devote himself to a thoroughly Mexican study, while recognizing an essential human universality. In the survey which follows, Paz analyzes a number of important features

erotic-"it stands for the triumph of closed-ness of the male, of him who

of the national essence in terms of their mythic nature : the cult of

is strong, contrasted with that which is open (and vulnerable). "

the Virgin of Guadalupe, the hero worship accorded the legendary Cuauhtemoc, etc. Paz concludes his analysis by observing that the

Paz argues that the relationship implied b y the verb defines much of the Mexican's social environment-a world of "the strong and the weak," of

ch?:ngones and chingados.

Paz then shifts his attention to history in an attempt to anaylze the traditional Mexican ,battle cry,

Viva M�xico, hijos de la Chingada !

essence of the nation is best described as a "breaking away" (una ruptura) from the Mother. Not only a breaking away, but also a negation and a search for a way back, for a return from the state of exile and aloneness. 80 Always the poet, Paz uses terms here which

("Long live Mexico, sons of the violated woman !"-to put it delicate­

have multiple symbolic values : "The Mother," for example, means

ly).

the

Inquiring into the identity of the

Chingada, Paz notes that she

is, above all else, a Mother--or, more precisely, an archetypal figure of the mother.

MoredVer, as the "violated mother" she represents

the Indian woman of the Conquest, the Dofia Malinche, the mistress of Cortes. It follows that the Mexican, like the Argentine Gaucho

Chingada, the violated Indian woman ("the long-suffering

Mexican mother," to use a popular phrase) ; on another level "the

Mother" is associated with the

madre patria, Spain, so in this sense

the "rupture" is a break with the security and established order of Old World civilization. Finally, in view of the universal character

analyzed by Martinez Estrada, is the product of an illegitimate

of mythic patterns, separation from "the Mother" is a generalized

union, and as such is fatherless and disinherited. In this sense

experience-a bond which links the Mexican to all men.

of the Mexican has an historical dimension : as the product of the

chapters in the

casual union of the Conquistadores and the violated Indian woman

For example, the Reform Movement of

he is in a sense an orphan ; his "accidental" birth has placed him in

finitive "rupture" with the mother, similar to the manner in which the adolescent breaks away from home and family. Perhaps the

La Chingada is "the mother of orphans."77 To sum up, the "aloneness"

a fundamentally hostile world wherein he has been forced to live defensively, circumscribed by a complex armour of mask and dis­ simulation. Paz is too sophisticated to believe that the Mexican is unique in his anguished condition : "Actually all women, even those who submit voluntarily, are torn open, are violated by the male. sense we are all children of the

In a

Chingada, children of Eve, simply by

virtue of being born of woman. "78 This point is further developed in a brief comparison of the Biblical account of the Fall, the Greek myths revolving about Zeus, "tl- e violator of women," and similar motifs in the cosmology of primitive man.

But rather than repeat

the work of others who have pointed out the similarities of mythic 76. lbUI., p. 69. 77. Ibid., p. 71. 78. Ibid., p. 77.

Paz' presentation of Mexican history, which occupies several

Laberinto, is organized in terms of this same myth. 1857 is viewed as the de­

best example of Paz' dialectical application of myth is seen in his discussion of the Revolution of 1910-17. The Revolution is a search for ourselves and a return to the mother. And thus it is also a fiesta . . . an excess and a waste . . . an orphan's lament and a cry of jubilation, of suicide and of life, all intermixed . . . it is the other Face of Mexico . . . the brutal and resplendent face of the fiesta and death. . . . It is a burst of reality : a revolt and a communion. . . . And with whom does Mexico join in communion in this bloody fiesta? With herself, with her own being. Mexico dares to be. The revolutionary explosion is a portentious festival in which the Mexican, drunk with himself, meets at long last in mortal embrace, the other Mexican.81 79. Ibid., p. 72.

80. Ibid.

81. Ibid., pp. 79-80.

208

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The closing chapters of the Laberinto deal with problems that recur frequently in any discussion of national essence : how may the specific expression of a country's experience-whether literary, political, artistic, or philosophical-be universal and yet genuinely "native"? Is there any meaning in such terms as "Mexican" art, "Mexican" essence, and "Mexican" philsosophy? Paz answers these questions in several ways. He argues that to look for distinctive philosophy in Mexico would be fruitless, for the modes of thought employed by Mexicans have clearly been eclectic and copied from Europe. 82 But he qualifies this view when he notes that the con­ temporary world is one in which the ideological fount of the Western world has become exhausted. This puts Mexico-and many coun­ tries like her--in an unprecedented position : "For the first time Mexico does not have available a set of universal ideas to explain our circumstances. Eu�ope, that storehouse of ready-made ideas now lives as we do : in the present. Strictly speaking, the modern world no longer has any ideas. For this reason the Mexican, like all men, finds himsel� facing reality alone."83 Thus, the Mexican must and will discover a genuine universality rather than merely copy European viewpoints. There may, of course, be a certain local flavor or style in Mexican philosophy, but this, like so many other external trappings, will eventually disappear: "Mexicanidad will be a mask which when it falls off will at last reveal (only) man. . . . Mexican philosophy . . . will simply and plainly be philosophy."84 Paz sums up this point very neatly when he adds, shortly afterwards, "our labyrinth is that of all men." In the cl08ing pages of the chapter titled "Our Times," Paz offers some of the richest fruits of his experience as a poet, as a diplomat, a.'l a Mexican, and as a man. He reminds his countrymen that there are no longer any set formulas to solve the problems of their past history, present essence, or future goals. Yet it is Mexico's responsibility that they be resolved. 86 In doing so the nation will perform a service not only to herself but to all other nations, for at the heart of things, the human condition is everywhere the same. Mexico must also realize that she is one of the "nations of the pe­ riphery"-the emerging nations who, though they have stood by for centuries as mere spectators or "objects" of history, are fast becoming 82. Ibid., pp. 133-34. 83. I!Jid., p. 151. 84. I!Jid., p. 153. 85. I!Jid., p. 1 72.

The Search for Essence

209

"agents of historical change." Unlike the older nations of Europe, these countries have no well established guidelines for the future. They have realized--or will soon realize-the uselessness of copying European solutions to traditionally European problems. The anguish which this realization produces can only be overcome by working out their own new and, in this sense, radical solutions. 86 In words of eloquent sincerity Paz expresses the wish that the Mexican's quest for essence will resolve itf'elf positively in the creation of "a world in which neither deceit, bad faith, pretense, greed, violence, nor subterfuge hold sway. A society which will not make of man an instrument. . . . A human society." 87 Finally the Mexican-and certainly all men-must have faith : faith that when all masks are shed, when all subterfuges are abandoned, when he is alone and naked he will find that "Out there, in the open solitude, the hands of others who are alone are awaiting us." 88 The words of Octavio Paz, the poet, leave little that we may add. It is always difficult to determine the impact of a given work upon the intellectual milieu in which it was produced. An abundance of evidence, however, points to the fact that in the case of Paz' Laberinto de la soledad, this impact was very substantial. Mexican journals of the early fifties, for example, blossom forth with scores of articles dealing with the general theme of lo mexicano and especially with articles organized along the lines suggested by Paz. The highly regarded review Filosofia y Letras, published by the National Univer­ sity, is particularly rich in essays of this type : Jorge Carri6n's "De la ra[z a Ia flor del mexicano," Alfonso Garcia Ruiz "Sociogenesis del mex­ icano," and Angelina C. de Morel6n's "Algunas formas del valor y de Ia cobard!a en el mexicano." 8 9 The publication, in 1952, of the series Mexico y lo mexicano (under Zea's direction) is a further indication of the Laberinto's catalytic effect. Our discussion of the quest for mexicanidad will be concluded by examining two items from this series, Mito y magia del mexicano by Jorge Carri6n (1925 ) , and Andlisis del ser del mexicano by Emilio Uranga (1921 ). Carri6n gives a hint of the methodology to be employed in the Mito y magia in his shorter essay "De la ra1z a la flor del mexicano" --

--

86. 1bid., p. 174. 87. /bid., p. 173. SS. Ibid., p. 174 . 89. These articles, and others on related themes, appear in Volumes XX (Oct., 1950) through XXIII (June, 1952) of this review. For more on Paz' impact see Wing's dissertation especially the first two chapters. The reaction of Mexico's intellectuals to Paz has �ot been unanimously positive: for an interesting and penetrating dissection of his mexicanidad, see Villegas, Filosofia de lo me:ticano, p. 211-12, note 1.

211

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

(1951) . He states here that his technique will be to seek the thread of "lo mexicano . . . throughout the course of its traumatic, painful

image-the hated authoritarian paterfamilias, identified with the

210

birth-the Conquest ; and follow it through the infantile stammerings of the colonial period." 9° Carri6n's method is thus clearly psy­ choanalytic. Paz-whom Carri6n cites in his essay-relied heavily on this technique in the Laberinto, but the psychoanalytic was only one of several approaches he employed. Of equal importance were ideas stemming from his poetics, from existentialism, and from oriental thought. Carri6n is considerably more one-sided : he ap­ parently accepts the proposition that the psychoanalysis of the individual may be applied to the group, and it is with the conceptual

o f his method. This conflict i s seen a s a protest against the father­ Spaniard. Throughout this discussion Carri6n borrows frequently from his predecessors, Ramos and Paz; his debt to these writers is particularly evident in his treatment of the fiesta and of Mexican attitudes toward women. 95 In his attempt to analyze Mexican hero-worship Carri6n has deliberately questioned Ortega's injunction not to "psychologize history."98 He argues that while the purely historical study of a Zapata, a Cuauhtemoc, or a Villa has undeniable value, the analysis of such heroes as mythic figures has even greater significance since

tools of the analyst that he probes lo mexicano. Thus, he finds in the Mexican character a basic polarity of femininity (associated with

it reveals the desires, aspirations, and needs of the people. The

the Indian background) versus masculinity (associated with t�e Spanish conqueror) . 91 The Mexican of the Conquest, like a libidi­

which the popular mollusk manufactures the pearl, the legend. " 97

nous adolescent, has on one hand an Oedipal attraction to the feminine image (La Chingada of Paz?) and, on the other, a yearning

for a powerful, godlike father-image. Much of this same polarity, Carri6n argues, continues to the present day, where it shows up in the Mexican's religious symbolism, popular beliefs, and penchant for myth-making. 92

Carri6n's book-length essay, the Mito y magia del mexicano

(1952) , is cast within the same psychoanalytic frame of reference. He states at the outset that traditional tales, legends, and myth­ regardless of their historical truth-have great value in determining the psychological nature of a people. In accord with his admitted mentors, Jung and Adler, he feels they illuminate childhood experience and hence are essential to the understanding of the mature individual or nation. 93 In this manner Carri6n analyzes the conflicts of the modern Mexican as the clash of "the maternal principle" with "the paternal. " These two "principles" have several layers of meaning : the maternal is traced to the Indian background and is characterized by a "pre-logical" or magical view of reality, while the paternal is associated with the Spanish conqueror and with a rationalistic or scientific attitude toward the world. 94 Carri6n's dis­ cussion of the Wars of Independence provides another illustration 90. Jorge Carri6n, "De la rafz a Ia !lor del mexicano," Filosoj{a y Lelras, XXI (Jan.-

June, 1951) , 13. 91. Ibid., pp. 21-22. 92. Ibid., pp. 23-24. 93. Jorge Carri6n, Milo y magia del mexicano (Mexico, 1952) , pp. 16-17. 94. Ibid., p. 10.

real Emiliano Zapata, for example, is "only the grain of sand about Similar examples abound in the essay. After the "trauma" of the Conquest, the father figure in the indigeneous mythology (Quetzal­ c6atl) is necessarily forgotten--or, better stated, is pushed into the collective subconscious. Meanwhile in response to the psychic needs of the people, the maternally compassionate figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe takes his place. 98 Somewhat different is Carri6n's in­ terpretation of the myth of the heroes cadetes-the young cadets who died martyrs' deaths in the defense of Chapultepec Castle during the North American invasion of 1848. Historical research has established the age of the youthful defenders as about 18, yet popular belief

always pictures them as boys of perhaps 14 or 15. Carri6n argues that the significance of this modification of their true age lies in the fact that there was, and perhaps still is, an essentially adolescent spirit about the Mexican which leads him to identify with this age group. 99 Much of Carri6n's essay is sprinkled with bits of political and social criticism in the guise of psychoanalysis. For example, when he attacks Mexico's Fascists, aristocrats, sinarquistas, and other "authoritarian types," Carri6n claims to do so not for their political or economic philosophy, but because they have rejected the profound indigenous sensibility toward death-"so alive, so moving, so full of 95. Ibid., 96. Ibid., 97. Ibid., 98. Ibid., 99. Ibid.,

p. ll. p. 22. p. 13. p. 46. pp. 30-31.

212

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

laughter."100 North America too comes in for some sharp criticism, particularly for its racistic tendencies. Here again explanations are sought in psychoanalytic rather than purely economic or social factors : "In all racistic ideas the motif of sexual repugnance lies latent and hidden."'01 And among his own countrymen he finds that the enmity toward the Yankee frequently takes the form of the desire to violate at least "two or three gringas" during one's lifetime. 102 There is much in the Mito y magia del mexicano that is open to criticism. Carri6n's frequent attempts to force political phenomena into the psychoanalytic mold seem especially questionable, as are his psychological explanations of certain features of Mexican speech. Yet Carri6n presents many brilliant insights, for he is a provocative writer and one who is capable of rising to impressive stylistic heights. Emilio Uranga begins his Analisis del ser del mexicano (1952) by acknowledging first his debt to Octavio Paz and secondly his al: legiance to a specific generation of intellectuals : the Hiperi6n group. Uranga's characterization of this circle of writers reveals a good deal about his own intellectual development. He underscores the group 's "discovery" of existentialism some three or four years earlier (about 1948), its fundamentally historicist orientation, and, most important, its devotion to "the imperative of clarifying the morphology and dynamics of the Mexican being."103 He further states that while the group recognizes that Mexico has always been interested in self­ knowledge, it now proposes a philosophically oriented, profound probe of the national essence : in short, an "ontology" of the Mexican. Uranga and his generation are not content merely to examine the national essence. As activists they feel that the very process of ontological investigation will "bring about moral, social and religious transformations of this essence."104 Uranga's intellectual equipment, as seen in the Analisis del ser del mexicano and in earlier shorter essays, 105 is decidedly existential. Uranga is not, however, an orthodox follower of any one trend within the movement. He draws upon Sartre, Heidegger, and Ortega ; most important, he has frequent recourse to what might be called

the poetic periphery of existentialism. The best way to attack the core of Uranga's position is to analyze exactly what he means by "historicism" and by "ontology." Early in his essay he points out that historicism has created a climate of interests in Mexico, a "broad movement of awareness," as he puts it. This movement itself is directed not toward an "historical" search for Mexican essence but rather toward a deeper "ontological" quest : "history must say, if not the last word, at least the next to the last word regarding the essence of the Mexican." 106 The term "historicism," as defined by Uranga, suggests a philosophy of history and an accomp­ anying method of evaluating the validity of historical investigation. The historicist position, he holds, calls for the clear recognition of the limitations inherent in any analysis of the past ; every historian writes from a given point in time and from a given situation, a circunstancia, to use Ortega's word. Historicism thus points out "the circumstantial connections of every thought, regardless of how universal it may strive to be."107 If I interpret Uranga correctly, he feels that the historicist method clarifies the various changing con­ ceptual structures which encompass and describe reality. This reality itself, he indicates, has a structure of its own, one which must be called "ontological." Later in the essay he argues that "ontological structures" are not valid only in a given historical moment ; they have a universal and atemporal quality.108 Uranga then qualifies his description of the ontological structure. He states that while it may be completed, it may never be modified. Any such "com­ pletion" must come, he adds, "from ontology itself. "109 Although his meaning is far from clear, one gathers that the "ontological structure," as used in reference to the Mexican nation, is not very different from the familiar concept of the "national soul"-wine of rather old vintage despite the newness of the historicist-existential bottle. Although it is clear that Uranga is concerned with the ontological structure of human beings, rather than with ontology as a philo­ sophical problem involving being in the widest sense, a number of questions .still remain regarding his use of this concept. Does he view being, the ontological structure, as an undifferentiated, amor­ phous "ground of being"? Or are there an infinite number of "onto-

100. Ibid., p. 101. The treatment of death in the Mexican essayists (Paz, Carri6n, and Uranga) is remarkably similar to the approach of Norman 0. Brown as set forth in his recent book, Life Against Death (Middletown, Con n . , 1959) . 101. Carr i6n, Mito, p. 32. 102. Ibid . , p. 34. 103. Emilio Uranga, Andlisi8 del ser del mexican o (Mexico, 1952), p. 10. 104. Ibid., p. 11. 105. See Uranga's "Dos teorfas de Ia muerte: Sartre y Heidegger," Filosojfa y utras, XVII (Jan.-March, 1949), 55-71.

106. Uranga, A nalisis del ser, pp. 13-14. 107. /bid., p. 10. 108. Ibid., p. 75. 109. Ibid.

213

214

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

The Search for Essence

logical structures" corresponding to all groups and all individuals?

change-as in psychoanalysis-the efforts of writers like Uranga

An answer may be found in the fact that Uranga consistently doubts the notions of the universality of man and of a general human nature: early in his essay he states " . . . we are not very certain of the existence of man in general."1 10 Yet when Uranga cites Heidegger on matters of basic definitions, as he does quite frequently, he is unconcerned that his mentor does not speak of the "German onto­ logical structure" but simply of "man" and of his essence. Uranga accepts, with some reservations, the fundamental Heideggerian concepts of man as "accidental" and of human existence as a "pro­ posal,"

or

"program"

(from the German aufgegeben) . m What

Uranga does not state-perhaps because it is obvious-is that when he reads the word "man" in Heidegger's works, he does not imagine

215

can produce real effects. Leaving aside the question of whether the ontological structure of a people may be altered, specifically what has Uranga revealed about the Mexican? The point of departure for his description is the existential concept of man's "accidental" status: man has no

raison d'etre, he is a chance "addition" to the world, or in Uranga's echoing of the Sartrean concept, he is "in excess" (esta de mas, esta

fuera) .U3 The Mexican, Uranga notes, is particularly sensitive to this situation in that he possesses a certain "proximity to accident" and a "desire to saturate life with chance. . . . " His love of the lottery and his attitude of distrust toward his fellow men stem from an attempt to cope with "accidentalness" by living a life in which

a group of blond beer d).inkers in a Freiburg tavern : in his mind's eye he sees the swarthy pelado, white cotton trousers, the mague

rational prognosis and faith in a foreseeable pattern of events hardly exist. 114 Uranga realizes, of course, that the "accidental"

cactus, the eagle, and the serpent.

nature of human existence is the same everywhere, but he feels that

y

Uranga's essay is based on the

conviction that the entire problem of universal man versus specific man-the Mexican, in this case-is, in fact, meaningless. He deplores the fact that Mexicans-and other non-Europeans-have confused

it would be ridiculous for him to study Frenchmen or Germans when he is so thoroughly familiar with Mexicans.

He finds, moreover,

that the Mexican sensitivity to "accidentalness" is particularly

the philosophic notion of universality with a simplistic idea of

acute. Aside from its expression in the love of the lottery and other

European cosmopolitanism. His own position is one which " . . .

games of chance, it is expressed by a basic feeling of zozobra ("worry,"

refuses to recognize as 'human' all those constructs of the Euro­

"anxiety" related to the verb zozobrar, "to sink," "to founder," or

peans . . . . " 112

"to capsize"). In short, the Mexican goes through life ever cognizant

There remain some unresolved problems surrounding Uranga's use of the term "ontological structure." We saw that the ontological

of his chance existence and always more or less in fear that he may founder on some unseen rock or reef. 11 6 Uranga points out that few

structure was viewed as something which may never be changed or

Mexican writers have ever isolated this fundamentally zozobrante

modified, but which may nonetheless be "completed." Thus it has a growth, though perhaps "development" would be too strong a. word to use in its description. Traditionally "ontology" suggests a static concept-"being" rather than "becoming"-yet as used by Uranga the word seems to denote a degree of dynamism and change. But if the ontological structure of the Mexican is in fact conceived of as an unchangeable essence which can only be "completed" or "added to" by "ontology itself," can Uranga and his generation do anything to accomplish their stated goals of bringing about a moral, social, and religious transformation of the Mexican's being? Though he avoids the question, the answer seems clear-their role is one of description, of revelation, perhaps. 110. Ibid., p. 20. 1 11 . Ibid., p. 19. 112. Ibid., p. 23.

To the extent that revelation can bring about

character of the Mexican; the oversight is especially evident among the essayists. He criticizes writers like Caso, Ramos, Zea, and Luis Villoro for having dealt merely with the autognosis of the Mexican

rather than with his onwlogy. 116 He feels that the value of his own contribution to the study of mexicanidad lies in the fact that he has

worked the rich mine of "intuitive insights" which the poets have provided : " . . . the only originality we claim is that of having

listened to the poets. " 117

113. Ibid., p. 31. 114. Ibid., pp. 24-25. 115. Ibid., pp. 41ff. 116. Ibid., pp. 62-65. Uranga is particularly critical of Luis Villoro's essay, "Sole­ dad y comuni6n," Filosofia y LetraB, XVII (Jan.-March, 1949), 1 15-� 9. Villoro's article was delivered as a speech on Oct. 29, 1948, at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. The speech is a rather early example of Mexican existential interest. Villoro speaks of Gabriel Marcel and other Existentialists; he also employs much "solitude­ communion" antithesis. 117. Uranga, AndliBis del ser, p. 100.

216

only clears the path to real understanding of others, but leads also

Uranga dedicates the last portion of his essay to one such poet-­

to genuine human fraternity. At heart he must agree with L6pez

Ram6n L6pez Velarde. L6pez Velarde's unique sensitivity to the Mexican zozobra, coupled with an intuitive appreciation of the

Velarde when the poet writes

"dialectic of solitude"-to use Paz' term-provide the elements of

My brethren of all ages

Uranga's final synthesis of the Mexican essence. As he uses the term

See in me their own moment's pause, Their own lament, their own mad striving. . .

zozobra, and as he finds it used in Velarde's poetry, the word acquires a meaning that is somewhat different from its dictionary definition. Rather than standing for a "capsizing" or "foundering," it suggests a kind of "oscillation between two possibilities, between two incli­

nature of the Mexican places him in a decidedly uncomfortable p osition : he suffers as he "zigzags" or "flutters" between vital choices. The point of zozobra is not a placid dead center, but a · constant slipping off the razor's edge first to one side then to another. In the tightly packed prose of his concluding chapter Uranga notes " . . . our character provides a permanent crisis with no hope of normalcy. " 119 By fusiitg a fertile insight of existentialism-the accidentalness of human existence--with a penetrating analysis of the Mexican zozobra, Uranga has reached this provocative conclusion. Provocative not only for Mexicans, but for others as well, for Uranga maintains that "personality viewed as zozobra is not a closed re­ ceptacle, rather it is an irrigation duct." That Mexico can learn to live in a state of perpetual crisis may in fact be of great value to others : "We have a lesson to teach, we owe the world the lesson of . . "120

a vitalized crisis . .

To conclude, Emilio Uranga is a relatively young man from a relatively young continent. As such, and as a man of the twentieth century, he does not claim to speak with absolute certainty. It will be recalled that when he discusses the crucial problem of the concept of universal man he says "we are not very certain of the existence of man in general. . . . " 121 It is in this light that we must appreciate And although Uranga

may doubt the philosophic validity of "man in general," he can not be relegated to the ranks of the narrow nationalists.

He is, as are

a host of his contemporaries throughout Spanish America, deeply committed to the old truth that a profound knowledge of oneself not 118. Ibid., p. 95. 119. Ibid., p. 99. 120. lbid. 121. Ibid., p. 97.

. 122

122. The original verse-which I have translated rather freely-is cited by Uranga on p. 99 of the A nalim del ser: Mia hermanos de todas las centurias reconocen en mi su pausa igual sus mismas quejas y sus propias furias.

nations, without knowing which it would be better to grasp and which it would be better to reject mercilessly." 11 8 The zozobrante

his contribution to the search for essence.

217

The Search for Essence

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

.,

Conclusion

219

radical tradition exist elsewhere. Similarly, the search for the national essence has followed a remarkably parallel course through­ out the

V I I I /C O N C LUSION

continent. Argentina's Eduardo

Mallea

and

Mexico's

Octavio Paz both pointed out that the route toward authenticity was to be found by following essentially the same path : the dialectic of solitud�ommunion and the tearing away of the merely cir­ cumstantial mask. Although there are always some differences in national flavor and slight variations in timing, we have here a clearly discernible pattern and one which certainly supports the concept of aD integral Spanish American culture.

An historical survey of this pattern leads to another important THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT WIDCH UNDERLIES SO MUCH

of contemporary Spanish American life and culture continues un­ abated. The dynamism, the restlessness-the zozobrante mood of the continent-make any conclusions which we may draw only· tentative. One of the most important of these tentative conclusions concerns a traditional problem in Spanish American studies : the question of viewing the area in terms of national versus heinispheric develop­ mental patterns. As viewpoints,

these two positions are more

complementary than mutually exclusive. Yet Spanish Americans­ as well as outsiders-frequently ask themselves if there exists in fact a genuine Hispanic American culture, or merely a conglomerate of very different nations each following her own historical trajectory and only vaguely related to the others by the single bond of language. The evidence presented here clearly argues for the continental or hemispheric position. The scientism of the late nineteenth century had established itself as firmly in Mexico as in Argentina ; racistic explanations of the continent's problems may be found in the writings of Alcides Arguedas-whose native Bolivia is one of the most "Indian" nations of Latin America-as well as in the essays of Jose lngenieros who came from white, cosmopolitan Buenos Aires.

In the first

decade of the present century, when the bastions of Positivism came under fire, Uruguay's Rod6, Mexico's Vasconcelos, and the Dominican Republic's Henriquez Urena all joined in the attack. Our exploration of the theme of the American destiny showed how Venezuela's Pic6n Salas, Mexico's Alfonso Reyes, Argentina's Ricardo Rojas, and even North America's Waldo Frank all contributed to the "rediscovery" of the continent. Although our analysis of radicalism centered about the Peruvian essayists, the writings of Argentina's Martinez Estrada and H. A. Murena provide evidence that passionate defenders of the

conclusion. The seventy years covered by our study witness a steadily increasing growth of confidence among Spanish American intellectuals. The defensiveness of the positivist period soon gave way to a mood of enthusiastic affirmation during the early decades of the present century. The rediscovery of America rekindled the spark of messianism and the dream of Utopia which have always been associated with the New World. With each new decade Spanish Americans have asserted the values of their culture with increasing conviction. They have even suggested that the continent is destined to play an ecumenical role in a dangerously divided world. Stated in the simplest terms, Spanish Americans are losing their inferiority complex.

They feel that they have important things to say and they

wish to be heard. This new attitude may surprise Europeans and North Americans : they may question how an "underdeveloped" area and one which has had a peripheral relationship to the main­ stream of Western life can solve problems which older and wiser nations have failed to solve.

Spanish American writers have defended

their position well, however. Paz and Reyes make a good case for considering Spanish America as a bridge between the worlds of East and West ; Mallea and others suggest that modern man must seek a new sense of genuineness in the land itself ; and scores of antiracists have pointed out that Hispanic America's process of ethnic blending may provide a model for a world in which skin color continues to be a major divisive force. That contemporary Spanish American essayists are deeply con­ cerned with questions of universal scope does not imply that they are no longer interested in their own national or regional culture. Rather, there is a growing appreciation of the old truth that self­ knowledge necessarily precedes any real knowledge of others. Thus another conclusion to be drawn from our study is that the dilemma

220

IN QUEST OF IDENTITY

of "nativism or universalism" which traditionally has plagued Spanish American lettters is at last beginning to be resolved. The rich essayistic production of recent decades centered on themes of "authenticity" and "autognosis" bears this point out, for seldom is the search for national essence an end in itself.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The best of contemporary Spanish American essayists, their philosophic and literary sophistication notwithstanding, are rarely bookish or pedantic.

One has the distinct feeling when reading their

works that he is dealing with real men, with "hombres de carne y hueso." To conclude, what stands out most sharply in their essays are certain qualities of spirit : the commitment of the writer to his vocation ; the difficult to describe, but mnnipresent search for a new humanism ; and among many, an almost mystical yearning for communion with all men.

THE MAJORITY OF THE ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE CITED OR

referred to in either the text or footnotes. The few additional un­ cited entries are books or articles which I have found valuable for general background. Alberini, Coriolano. "Waldo Frank en la Facultad de Filosofia y Letras," Sintesis, No. 29 (Oct., 1929) , 117-25. Alexander, Robert J. Communism in Latin America. New Bruns­ wick : Rutgers University Press, 1957. Anderson Imbert, Enrique. "La Argentina, Erro y la filosofia," Sur, No. 45 (June, 1938), 32-43. ---. Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. 2 vols. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica, 1961. Andrade Coello, A. RodO. Quito : Imp. de la Universidad Central,

1913.

. . . " "La academia, la taberna, y la umverstdad, Revista de las lndias, No. 58 (Oct., 1943), 5-15. ---. Este pueblo de America. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Eco­ n6mica, 1945. Arguedas, Alcides. La danza de las sombras. 2 vols. Barcelona : Sobs. de L6pez Robert, 1934. ---. Pueblo enfermo : Contribucion a la psicol gia de los pueblos � hispano-americanos. Carta-pr6logo de Rarmro de Maeztu. Barcelona : Viuda de L. Tasso, 1909. ---. Pueblo enfermo. 3era ed. Santiago de Chile : Ercilla, 1937. Astrada Carlos. El juego existencial. Buenos Aires : Babel, 1933. Barbag�lata, Hugo D. Rodo y sus criticos. Paris : Agencia Gen. de Libreria, 1920. Barzun, Jacques. Race : A Study in Modern Superstition. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1937. Beck, Vera. "La revista Martin Fierro," Revista Hispdnica Moderna, XVI (Jan.-Dec., 1950), 133-4�. . . , Belalinde, Victor Andres. Medttacwnes peruanas. Ltma : Cta. de Impresiones y Publicidad, 1923. --. "En torno al ultimo libro de Mariategui," Mercurio Peruano, XX (Mar.-April, 1930) , 132-36. Arciniegas, German.

222

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bernardete, M. J. (ed.). Waldo Frank in America Hispana. New York : Inst. de las Espafias, 1930. Borges, Jorge Luis. "Una efusi6n de Ezequiel Martinez Estrada," Sur, No. 242 (Sept.-Oct., 1956) , 52-53. ---. Inquisiciones. Buenos Aires : Proa, 1925. Boyd, William C. Genetics and the Races of Man. Boston : Little, Brown, 1950. Bulnes, Francisco. El porvenir de las naciones latino-americanas. Mexico : Pensamiento Vivo de America, [1922]. Bunge, Carlos Octavio. Nuestra America: Ensayo de psicologia social. 6a edici6n, texto definitivo, muy corregido. Intro. de Jose Ingenieros. Buenos Aires : Vaccaro, 1918. Canal Feij6o, Bernardo. Medida del criollismo. Buenos Aires : Porter Hnos., 1929. ---. "Radiograf!as fatidicas," Sur, No. 37 (Oct., 1937) , 63-67. ---. El reverso humoristico de la tristeza criolla. (Publicaci6n No. 43 de la "Extensi6n Universitaria.") Sante Fe : Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 1940. ---. "Sobre el americanismo de Ricardo Rojas," Revista Ibero­ americana, XXIII (July-Dec., 1958), 221-26. ---. Teoria de la ciudad argentina : idealismo y realismo en el proceso constitucional. Buenos Aires : Sudamericana, 1951. Carri6n, Benjamin. Los creadores de la nueva America. Madrid: Soc. General Espanola de Libreria, 1928. Carri6n, Jorge. "De Ia raiz a la flor del mexicano," Filosofia y Letras, XXI (Jan.-June, 1951), 9-24. ---. Mito y magia del mexicano. (Colecci6n "Mexico y lo mexicano," No. 3.) Mexico : Porrua y Obreg6n, 1952. Caso, Antonio. "El enemigo de la tierra," Repertorio Americana, IV (1922), 171-73. ---. La existencia como economia, como desinteres y como caridad. Mexico : Secretaria de Educaci6n Publica, 1943. ---. La jilosofia de la intuici6n. Mexico : Ed. de "Nosotros," 1914. ---. "Max Stirner," Revista Moderna, X (March, 1908) , 80-84. ---. "Nietzsche, su espiritu y su obra," Revista Moderna, VIII (Aug., 1907), 348-58. ---. "Perenidad del pensainiento religioso y especulativo," Revista Moderna, XIII (Oct., 1909), 68-72. Chang-Rodriguez, Eugenio. La literatura politica de Gonzalez Prada, Maridtegui y Haya de la Torre. Mexico : Studium, 1957. Crawford, William Rex. A Century of Latin American Thought. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass. ; Harvard University Press, 1961. Diaz Rodriguez, Manuel. Camino de perfecci6n. Caracas : Ed. Cecilio Acosta, [1942]. Diez de Medina, Fernando. Sariri: Una replica al Ariel de Rod6. La Paz : Tejerina-Librero, 1954. Dujovne, Le6n. La obra filos6fica de Jose Ingenieros. Buenos Aires : A. L6pez, 1930.

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·--.

1928.

Marias, Julian. El existencialismo en Espana. Bogota : Ed. "Universidad Nacional de Colombia," 1953. Mariategui, Jose Carlos. El alma matinal. Lima : Amauta, 1959. ---. Defensa del marxismo. Lima : Amauta, 1959. ---. Siete ensayos de interpretacion de la realidad peruana. Lima : Amauta, 1959. Marti, Jose. "El partido liberal," in Obras completas, Vol. II. La Habana: Tr6pico, 1946. ---. "La verdad sobre los Estados Unidos," in Obras completas, Vol. I. La Habana : Tr6pico, 1946. Martinez, Jose Luis (ed.) . El ensayo mexicano moderno. 2 vols. Mexico : Fondo de Cultura Econ6Inica, 1958. Martinez Estrada, Ezequiel. "AnaJisis funcional de la cultura," Lunes de Revoluci6n, No. 47 (Feb. 15, 1960), 3-5. ---. Cabeza de Goliat : microscopia de Buenos Aires. Btrenos Aires : Club del libro A.L.A., 1940. ---. "El complejo Chandala," Cuadernos Americanos, IX (Jan.Feb., 1950), 116-29. ---. "El estimulo de vivir," Nosotros, XI (Dec., 1917), 457-66. ---. Exhortaciones. Buenos Aires : Burnichon, 1957. --- . "Lo real y el realismo," Cuadernos Americanos, XVII (July-Oct., 1958), 258-64. ---. Muerte y transfiguraci6n de Martin Fierro. 2 vols. Mexico : Fondo d e Cultura Econ6mica, 1948. ---. "Norteamerica la hacendosa," Sur, No. 193 (Nov.-Dec.,

1950), 146-55.

---.

"El nuevo mundo, la isla de Utopia, y la isla de Cuba, "

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·

Orrego, Antenor. "Apuntes para una filosofia o interpretaci6n del pensamiento," Amauta, I (Dec., 1926), 17-21. ---. "lCua.l es la cultura que creara America?" Amauta, II (April, 1928), 3-4. Serial article continued in Sept. issue, pp. 14-16 and Oct. issue, pp. 8-9. ---. El pueblo continente: Ensayos para una interpretacion de la America Latina. Santiago de Chile : Ercilla, 1939. --- . "lQue es una filosofla?" Amauta, III (Nov.-Dec., 1929),

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Ortega y Gasset, Jose. El espectador, Vol. II of Obras completas. 4• ed. Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1957. ---. "La voluntad del barroco," Revista de America, IV (June­ July, 1914), 87-96. Ortiz, Fernando. "Los factores humanos de la cubanidad," Revista Bimestre Cubana, XLV (1940) , 165-69. Paz, Octavio. El arco y la lira. Mexico : Fondo de Cultura Eco­ n6mica, 1956. ---. El laberinto de la soledad. 2a edici6n revisada y aumentada. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica, 1959. ---. Las peras del olmo. Mexico : Imp. Universitaria, 1957. ---. "Poesia de soledad y poesla de comuni6n," El Hijo Prodigo, I (Aug., 1945), 271-78. ---. "Vigilias : Fragmentos del diario de un sofiad or," Taller, I (Dec., 1938), 3-6.

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.

--- . Obras completas. 3 vols. Mexico : Libreros Mexicanos Umdos,

1957.

· Fondo de Villegas, Abelardo. La filosofia de lo mexicano. MeXIco: Cultura Econ6mica, 1960. Villoro, Luis. "Soledad y comuni6n," Filosofia y Letras, XVII (Jan.-March, 1949), 1 15-19. . . . . , Virasoro, Miguel Angel. "Introduce16n a Ia nueva sens1b1hdad, Inicial, II (August, 1925), 102-16. . . , ---. "El problema de la cultura y la nuevamentahdad argentina, Inicial, I (Dec., 1924) , 1 1-25. , . ---. "Una teoria del yo como cultura, Sintests, I (Dec., 1927),

13-36.

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hl

1919.

- ' Los �::XI· co: Zea, Leopoldo. America en la conciencia de Europa. M" Presentes, 1955. . ---. Dos etapas del pensamiento en Hispa_noamerica ; Del romanticismo al positivismo. Mexico: El � olegto e MeXIco, 1949. _ ---. Ensayos sabre filosofia en la htStorta. MeXIco: Stylo, 1948. _ ---. The Latin American Mind. TranslatiOn of Dos etapas del pensamiento en Hispanoamerica. Translated by James H. Abbott and Lowell Dunham. Norman, Okla. ; University of Oklahoma Press, 1963. . ---. "Ortega el americano," Cuadernos Amertcanos, XV (Jan.-

�

Feb., 1956), 132-45. . Zum Felde, Alberto. Proceso intelectual del Uruguay. MonteVIdeo: Claridad, 1941. . ---. Indice critico de la literatura hispanoamerteana : El ensayo Y la critica. Mexico : Guarania, 1954.

230

A PP E N D I X

SoME JouRNALS D EALING WITH THE CoNTEMPORARY SPANISH AMERICAN EssAy THE FOLLOWING ENUMERATION IS NEITHER EXHAUS TIVE

nor bibliographically complete. I have merely listed those journals in which I have found valuable material by and about essayists of twentieth-century Spanish America. In the case of some journals I have added a brief descriptive note. For further information on Spanish American periodicals see Boyd G. Carter, Las revistas literarias de Hispanoamtrica (Mexico : Studium, 1959) ; and John E. Englekirk, "La literatura y la revista en Hispanoamerica " Revista lberoamericana, XXVI (Jan.-June, 1961), 9-79 ; Revista lbero� mericana XXVII (July-Dec., 1961), 219-79 ; and Revista Iberoamericana, XVIII (Jan.-June, 1962), 9-73. Abside. Mexico, 1937-56. A journal of ideas. The best of modern Catholic thought� Oswaldo Robles, Sanchez Villasefior, Alberto G. Mendez Plancarte, Valenzuela, and others. Amauta. Lima, 1926-30. Invaluable for study of the Leftists particularly the Apristas. Antenor Orrego, Waldo Frank' ' Mariategui, Luis Alberto Sanchez, etc. La Antorcha. Paris, 1931-32. Ephemeral publication of Jose Vasconcelos while in Europe. Atenea. Univ. of Concepci6n, Chile. 1924--. Chile's most im­ portant literary and intellectual journal. Directed for many years by Enrique Molina. A tldntida. Buenos Aires, 191 1-14. Avance. Havana, 1927-30. Important vehicle for Cuban writers and intellectuals of the late 1920's. Interesting for political radicalism as well. Mafiach, Carpentier, Marinello, Novas Calvo, and others. Babel. Buenos Aires, 1939-51. Directed by "Enrique Espinoza," ps eud. of Samuel Glusberg. Interesting and sophisticated. Decidedly radical orientation. Contributors include : Martinez Estrada, P. Henrlquez Urefia, Sydney Hook, Ed. Wilson, Kafka, Camus, etc. B olivar. Bogota, 1951 . Rather conservative "replacement" for the Revista de las lndias which ceased publication in 1951. Features Catholic intellectuals-C. Finlayson, Wagner de Reina, Derisi, Frankl-as well as others. Casa de Cultura Ecuatoriana. Quito, 1945-54. Directed by Benjamin Carri6n. Important for indigenista orientation. Features such writers as Pio Jaramillo Alvarado, Jorge Icaza, and Carrera Andrade. Claridad. Buenos Aires, 1926-41. Decidedly Leftist. Important for study of Argentine and general Spanish American radicalism. --

231

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

El Cojo Ilustrado. Caracas, 1892-1914. Invaluable for study of writers of the modernistas and the arielistas: Rod6, C. Zumeta, C. A. Torres, F. Garcia Calder6n, Blanco Fombona, et al. Contemporaneos. Mexico, 1928-31. Directed by B. Ortiz de Montel­

lano. The vehicle of the "Generation of Contemporaneos" : Abreu G6mez Villaurrutia, Torres Bodet. Much translation from foreign �ources and reprints of other Spanish American journals. Cuadernos. Paris, 1953-65. One of the very best Spanish la!lguage journals published today. Organ of the "Congreso por la libertad de la Cultura." Articles by Arciniegas, H. A. Murena, Antenor Orrego, L. A. Sanchez, Dlez de Medina, etc. . . Cuadernos Americanos, Mexico, 1942--. Another very maJor liter­ ary journal of contemporary Spa11:ish Am�rica. I11:cludes art�cles from all over the hemisphere, but wrth special attentiOn to Mexrcan themes and writers. Cuba Contemporanea. Havana, 1913-27. An important journal of its day. Includes many non-Cubans among its collaborators. Cultura Universitaria. Caracas, 1947--. FicciOn. Buenos Aires, 1956-65. Includes ma�y of the best recent Argentine writers : Borges, L. E. Soto, Martmez Estrada, etc. Filosofia y Letras, Mexico, 1941-54. Publis�ed �Y the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the National Umversity. Much Ramos, Caso, Zea, O'Gorman. By mid-forties a number of articles on existentialism appear. El Hijo Pr6digo. Mexico, 1943-46. Edited by Paz, AU Chumac�ro, Sanchez Barbudo, 0. G. Barreda, and others. Muc� foreign translation, particularly from contemporary French wnters. . Hispania. Amherst, Massachusetts, 19 18 . Organ of the AJ;nen­ . can Association of teachers of SpanlSh and Portuguese. Articles, chiefly by North Americans, on a wide range of Hispanic literary subjects. . Humanismo. Mexico City and Habana, 1952-60. Edited �Y Cubans . and Mexicans ; by late fifties became assoCia�d �th Castro movement. Interesting for development of �trts� Ideology. . Inicial. Buenos Aires, 1923-24. Markedly Rightist and antiSemitic. Important for study of Virasoro. . . Kollaysuyo. La Paz, 1939-42 ; 1951-52. Earlier series more tndigenista. Later series is more general. . . Les Lettres Franraises. Buenos Aires, 1941-47. Unusual reVIew wrth collaborators from France and Argentina. Directed by Roger Caillois. . El Maestro. Mexico, 1921. Ephemeral journal published by the Secretarla de Educaci6n, then headed by Vasconcelos. Most outstanding contributor is Ram6n L6pez V.elarde. . . Mar del Sur. Lima 1948-53. An impressive and sophisticated review. Much interest in foreign literary and intellectual. move­ ments : existentialism, Zen, psychoanalysis, etc.. Contributors include Mariano Iberico, A. Salazar Bondy, Octav10 Paz. ·

--

232

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Martin Fierro. Buenos Aires, 1924-27. Extremely important for . poet.w movements of the period. Less important for the essay. . Im� , 1918-31 ; �939-53. Gives a good general Mercur:o Peruano. reVIew of Peruvian mtellectual hfe. Becomes noticeably more . conservatiVe after 1939. Minera. Buenos Aires, 1941-? Often listed as Cuadernos Minerva. Primarily a philosophical journal . Nosotros. Buenos Aires, 1907-34 ; 1936-43. A major literary journal of its period. La Nueva Democracia. N�w york, 192o---:-. Published by the . . Committee on Cooperation m Latm Amenca. Articles on a wide range of general Latin American subjects. Proa. Buenos Aires, 1924-25. Important for the "Martinjierristas' " Borges, Guiraldes, some early work of Mallea. Realidad. Buenos Aires, 1947-49. A "review of ideas." Directed by Francisco Romero. Contributors include Erro, Mallea' Martinez Estrada, R. Frondizi, Ascoli, etc. Repertorio Americana. San Jose de Costa Rica, 1919-57. Extremely valuable "review of reviews" type publication. Reprinted items from leading periodicals of the hemisphere. Directed for over twenty-five years by Garcia Monge. Revista Bimestre Cubana. Havana, 1831-35; 1910-59. One of the oldest publications in Spanish America. Directed by Fernando Ortiz in recent years. Revista Chilena. Santiago, 1917-30. Revista Cubana. Havana, 1935-57. Revista de America. Bogota, 1945-51. A solid continentally oriented journal. Directed by Arciniegas and Garcia Peiia. Contributors include Gabriela Mistral, L. Alberto Sanchez, Diez de Medina, and Sanin Cano. Revista de America. Paris, 1912-14. Directed by F. Garcia Calder6n. Contributors from Spanish America and from Spanish Americans living in prewar Paris : lngenieros, Perez Petit, Gerardo Murillo ("Dr. Atl"), etc. Revista de Filosofia. Buenos Aires, 1915-29. Directed by lngenieros, and often reflecting his intellectual position. Revista de las lndias. Bogota, 1936-51. An excellent review of wide interests. Chief contributors : Arciniegas, Sanin Cano' Diez de Medina, etc. Revista Hispdnica Moderna, New York, 1934---. Revista Iberoamericana. Mexico, 1939--. Organ of the Instituto lnternacional de Literatura Iberoamericana. Revista Moderna. Mexico, 1898-1911. Helpful for early work of the Ateneo writers : Caso, Henriquez Urena, etc. Revista Nacional. Montevideo, 1938--. Revista Nacional de Cultura. Caracas, 1938-. Directed by Pic6n Salas until 1940, then by Juan B. Plaza. Ruta. Mexico, 1938-39.

;r.

_

R.

233

Sintesis. Buenos Aires, 1927-30. An important journal of literary and philosophic orientation. Writers of widely varying viewpoint : Borges, Virasoro, C. Astrada, Gerchunoff, etc. Sur. Buenos Aires, 1931 --. Founded by Victoria Ocampo, con­ tinues to be Argentina's greatest literary and intellectual journal. Virtually all important Argentine writers have published in it. Also features much foreign literature, translations, etc. Taller. Mexico, 1938-41. Much by Paz, R. Solana, Maria Zambrano,

and others. Tierra Nueva, Mexico, 1940-42. Articles by Zea, J. L. Martinez, Paz, Ali Chumacero, etc. . . . Wide Universidad de Mexico. 1946-. Important JOUrnal with d d variety of articles. Especially interesting for �he mexicani � m theme. An earlier journal bearing the same title appeared

1931-33.

. Di­ Universidad: Mensual de Cultura Popular. Mexico, 1936-38 Ramos, rected by Miguel N. Lira. Leftist leaning. Articles by R. Heliodoro Valle, and many foreigners. Valoraciones. Buenos Aires, 1923-28. Particularly rich in philosophic articles. Korn, Romero, frequent contributors, also some Mexi­ cans : Torres Bodet, Reyes, and Ramos. by im­ La Vida Literaria. Buenos Aires, 1928-31 . Includes articles -and Estrada z Martine off, Gerchun writersne Argenti portant many foreigners. Leftists predominate.

INDEX

A Acosta, Jo� de, 59n Adler, Alfred, 100, 191, 210. See also Psychoanalytic methods AJas, Leopoldo, 39n Alberdi, Juan Bautista, 22, 136 Alberini, Coriolano, 79, 149 Alexander, Robert J., 102n

Alianza Popular Re��olucionaria Ameri�� (APRA), 107, 108, 109n,

150; ongms of, 4 ; and Mariategui, 118; Orrego on, 120-21 ; founding of, 124; and Marxism, 125. See also Haya de la Torre, Victor RaUl; Radicalism Alienation, 63; in modernista��, 9 ; in Frankl's thought, 77-78 ; in Mar­ tinez Estrada's thought, 137-38; and existentialism, 158-59 ; in Canal Feij6o's thought, 173-76; in Murena's thought, 180; in Ramos' thought, 190; in Paz' thought, 198-99 Alvarez, Agustin, 13 Amado, Jorge, 79 American destiny, 142, 218, 219; in Orrego's thought, 123; in Erro's thought, 155; in Mallea's thought, 166; and existentialism, 173; in Zea's thought, 196 See alao Americanism Americanism, 58-101 pa��sim; and nativism, 59; in essays before 1890, 59n ; sense of destiny in, 100-1; in Mariategui's thought, 113; in Orrego's thought, 119; and national essence 146; in Mallea's thought, 164-65; shift of emphasis in, 187. See also American destiny Anarchism, in Gonzaiez Prada's thought ' 110; in Martinez Estrada's thought, 139, 178 Anthropological Society of Paris, 18n Anthroposociology, 13, 14, 18 Anti-Semitism, 170

Aramburu, Pedro, 179 Arciniegas, German, 79, 81, 95-97, 166; Est£ pueblo de Amtrica, 96 Argentina, depression of 1890, 7 ; racial factors in, 18, 30; nationalism in, 62; Ortega on, 71-72; Catholic thinkers in, 98; radicalism in, 108n; Martinez Estrada on, 139; intellectual life in 1920's, 150; depression and writers in, 153-54; existentialism in, 169-70. See also Argentinidad Argentinidad, 146-81 pa��sim; Rojas on, 147-49 ; Erro on, 150-58; and existentialism, 158-59 ; Mallea on, 160-68; Canal Feij6o on, 173-77 ; Martinez Estrada on, 177-80; Murena on, 180-81 Arguedas, Alcides, 13, 14, 19-24, 31, 32, 64, 218; Diez de Medina's critique of, 90; La danza de la8 8ombra��, 20-22, 24; Pueblo enfermo, 19-24 pa��sim Arielismo, 29, 105; defined, 39; literary style of, 40; and fear of U.S., 40; and indigenism, 40; in Mexico, 46-47 ; parallels of in U.S., 72; Pic6n Salas on, 92, 93-94; and radical thought, 106. See also Rod6, Jose Enrique Aristocracy of merit in arielista thought ' 40, 42; in Frank's thought, 75 Aryanism, 13 Astrada, Carlos, 131, 150, 158, 170, 171-72; El juego existencial, 171-72· "De Kierkegaard e. Heidegger' " 17 Atavism, in Bunge's thought, 17 ; in Arguedas' thought, 20, 23 Ateneo de la Juventud, 46-53 pa��sim, 85, 92; and present writ�rs, 81 128· ' ' and mexicanidad, 189 "Atl, Dr." (Gerardo Murillo), 107 Ayarmgaray, Lucas, 26 AyUu, 88

2

236 B

Bakunin, 110, 140 Barbuase, Henri, 112, 118 Barreda, Gabino, 45, 48, 50 Barrios, Eduardo, 92 Barth, Karl, 158 Baudelaire, Charles, 9 Belaunde, Victor Andres, 98, 117, 183-85; Meditacionll8 peruaMs, 183-84 ; Peruanidad: elementos ll8enciales, 183, 185 Bello, Andr�s, 95 Berdyaev, Nicholas A., 98, 99, 142, 155-56, 158, 168 Bergson, Henri, 29, 42, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 103n; in Caso's thought, 51, 53; Molina's critique of, 54 Bilbao, Francisco, 59n Birth trauma, and national essence, 190; in Paz' thought, 199; in Carri6n's thought, 210-1�. See also Psychoanalytic methods Blanco Fombona, Rufino, 40, 105 Bolfvar, Sim6n, 59n, 94, 96 Bolivia., 8; indigenism in, 19; backward­ ness and race, 23; Motimiento Nacional ReDolucionario. (MNR), 90 Borges, Jorge Luis, 141n, 150, 173, 179; Erro on, 151, 152, 153; Murena's critique of, 180 Bosch, Juan, 4 Bourgeoisie, in late nineteenth century, 35; criticism of, 104, 127; Ramos on, 128-29; Martinez Estrada on, 132; Paz on, 199-200 Boutroux, Emile, 42, 44, 47, 51 Brentano, Franz, 68 Broca, Paul, 18 Brooks, Van Wyck, 73 Brown, Norman 0., 212n Buchner, Louis, 63 Buenos Aires, growth in nineteenth century, 6 ; as intellectual center, 9; characterized by Martinez Estrada, 137, 138, 177-78; Mallea on, 161 ; Canal Feij6o on, 174-75 Bulnes, Fra.no.Jisco, 32n, 60; El porvenir

de las nacio1U's latinoamericanas, 60

Bunge, Carlos Octavio, 14, 15-19, 31, 32, 42; compared with Arguedas, 23; compared with Garcia Calder6n, 25, 28; Null8tra America, 15-19

c

Cabeza. de Va.ca, Alvar Nunez, 59n Canal Feij6o, Bernardo, 147, 149, 172, 173-77, 179; compared with Martinez Estrada, 177-178; El reverso

humoristico de la tristeza eriolla, 173-74; Teoria de la ciudad argentina, 174-76

237

Index

Index Carpentier, Alejo, 108n Carri6n, Jorge, 209-12; "De Ia rafz a Ia fior �el mexicano, " 209, 210; Mito y magta del mexicano, 209, 210-12 Caso, Antonio, 34n, 45, 46, 99, 103, 108, 127, 189, 215; contrasted with Vasconcelos, 48; and Ateneo thought, 50-53 ; polemic with Bulnes 60; Ramos' critique of, 128; and mexicanidad, 193-94; Discursos a la naci6n mexicana, 189; La existencia

como economia, como desinterls y como caridad, 50-51, 53; "Perennidad

del pensamiento religioso y especulativo," 51 Castro, Fidel, 102n, 103n, 143, 188 Catholicism, and Americanist thought 97-101; Mariategui and, 118. See aiso Church and state Chang-Rodriguez, Eugenio, 113, 116, 124 Chavez, Ezequiel, 189 Chestov, Leon, 158 Chlle, society a.t turn of century, 7 ; chilenidad 182-83; intellectual life in, 183 Chola. See Mestizo Church and state, 38; Mariategui on, . 114-15 Cientificos, 7, 12, 32, 44, 60 City Ds. country, nineteenth-century society in, 8-9 ; economic contrast of, 10; in Rojas' thought, 63, 148; in Tamayo's thought, 65; in Reyes' thought, 83-84; and radical thought, 106; Martinez Estrada on, 137-38, 164, 178; in Erro's thought, 152; in Mallea's thought, 164; in Canal Feij6o's thought, 174-76 Cold war, and Spanish America, 142; Murena. on, 144; and Mexican intellectual life, 193 Colmo, Alfredo, 79 Communism and Communists, 102, 103, 108, 112, 117, 142; First Latin American Communist Conference, 113; and Mariategui, 1 13-14, 18; Orrego on, 120-21 ; and anti­ Semitism, 170; Paz on, 200 Comte, Auguste, 9, 33, 34; and Mexican positivism, 7 ; influence on Spanish American education, 12; in Rod6's thought, 44; in Sierra's thought, 45; in Ca.so's thought, 53

Conferencia interamericana "Prodemocracia y libertod" (Havana);142

Coviello, Alfredo, 149 Croce, Benedetto, 112 Croly, Herbert, 72 CrioUismo, defined, 150-53, and art, 152. See also Americanism;

·

indigenism; Nativism vs.

Uuiversalism Cuauhtemoc, 207, 211 Cuba, radicalism in, 78, 108; revolution of 1959, 102n, 103n; Castro regime, 132, 141n, 145, 179, 188; intellectual life, 186-87. See al8o Castro, Fidel; Cubanidad Cubanidad, 153, 186-88 D

D'Annunzio, Gabriele, 43 Darfo, Ruben, 10, 35n, 41; critique of bourgeoisie, 9 ; Erro on, 153; "El rey burgues," 9 . . . . Darwinism, and Mencan poBltiVlBID, Bunge's in 12; of, nce 7· importa thought, 16; in Ingeuieros' thought, 30-31 Delgado, Honorio, 185 Democracy, and racial problems, 24; Martinez Estrada on, 138-39 Determiuism, critique of, 47; per­ sistence of, 54; in Molina's thought, 54; in Ingenieros' thought, 56; and telluricism in Rojas, 62; Tamayo's critique of, 63; in ��ega's thoug?-t, 70· Fra.ncovich's cnt1que of, 90; m �nkl's thought, 100; Mariategui on, 116; in Orrego's thought, 127; and the land in Mallea, 162-63. See also Environmentalism; Historicism; Telluricism DeUstua, Alejandro 0., 53n, 185 Dewey, John, 73 Dlaz, Porfirio, 7. See also Mexico, Dlaz regime Dfaz del Castillo, Bernal, 59n Dlaz Rodriguez, Manuel, 39, 43, 105, Camino de perfecci6n, 43 Dlez de Medina, Fernando, 61, 81, 90-92, 147 ; Sariri, 90, 91-92; Thunupa, 90-91 Dilthey, Wilhelm, 68, 150, 158 Doll, Ram6n, 108n Draper, Theodore, 102n Dreiser, Theodore, 73 Duhamel, George, 84 Dujovne, Leon, 79 Duran, Luis, 182-8.'3 E

Echeverria, Esteban, 136 . . Economic problems, of land distn­ bution, 8; in rural areas, 10 Education, and race, 22, 23, 24; Tamayo on, 64, 65; Mariategui on, 115 Eddington, Arthur Stanley, 125n Einstein. Albert, 125 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 55-56,t57

Environmentalism, in Arguedas'

thought, 21 ; in Garcia Calder6n's thought, 28; in Ingenieros' thought, 31; in Rojas' thought, 62, 147· in Tamayo's thought, 64 ; and the iand in Frank, 77; in Reyes' thought, 83-84; and the land il!' Uriel Garcia's thought, 87-88; m Haya.'s thought, 127. See also Determinism; Telluricism Eroticism, 123; in Frank's thought, 78; in Martinez Estrada's thought, 133; in Paz's thought, 198, 199-200, 206 Erro, Carlos Alberto, 34, 35, 131, 147, 149-59, 168, 172, 173; Dialogo existencial, 157-59; Medida del eriollismo, 149, 150-53; Posibilidad y realidad de la mda argentina, 155; Tiempo lacerado, 153-56 Estrada Ezequiel Martinez. See Martinez Estrada, Ezequiel EBBBy, as a literary ferro, 10-11 . Existentialism, 99n, 130n, 145, 150; m Ortega's thought, 68-69; religious, 98, 158; and Martinez Estrada, 137; in Erro's thought, 154, 157-59; Mallea's relationship with, 168-69; in Virasoro's thought, 171 ; in Argentina, 171 ; in }'
:

f:J

238

Index

Frankl, Victor, 81, 98-100; Espfritu y camino de Hispanoamerica, 98-100 Frazer, James Geor,re, 203 Freud, Sigmund, 112 G Gallegos, R6mulo, 4 Ganivet, Angel, 162 Gaos, Jose, 195, 197 Garcia Baeea, David, 195 Garcia Calder6n, Francisco, 14, 24-29, 31, 43, 46, 184; compared with Rod6, 39; and arielistll8, 42; Pie6n Salas' critique of, 93-94; La creaciOn de un continente, 28-29; Les dlmocraties latines de l'Amlrique, 25-27 Garcia Ruiz, Alfonso, 209 Garcilaso de la Vega, El Inca, 59n Gauchoe, immigrants ae, 8; character of, 22; Martinez Estrada on, 135, 137, 177; Erro on, 152; compared with Mexicans, 206 Geopolitics, 126 Gerchlinofl', Alberto, 79, 177 Ghiano, Juan Carlos, 72n Glusberg, Samuel, 75, 150 Goncourt, Edmond and Jules, 9 GonzAlez, Juan Natalicio, 100 GonzAlez, Manuel Pedro, 104n Gonzalez Prada, Manuel, 32-33, 61, 107, 108, 118; and Peruvian radicalism, 109-11; praised by Pic6n Salae, 94; Belatinde on, 184; H()1'a8 de lucha, 109; Pagi1UJ8 libres, 109 Groussac, Paul, 34n Guiraldes, Ricardo, Erro on, 151, 152; Murena's critique of, 180-81 Gutierrez Cruz, Carlos, 108 Guyau, Marie-Jenn, 34, 40n, 47, 109 H Haeckel, Ernst Heinrich, 63 Haldane, John Sanderson, 125n Hartmann, Nicolai, 131 Haya de la Torre, Victor RaUl, 4, 67n, 81, 93, 107-8, 111, 120; 124-27 ; relationship with Mariategui, 114, 118; Espacio-Tiempo hist6rico, 124-26. See also Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana

Hegel, G. F., and Hegelianism, 47, 50, 53, 68, 70-71, 98, 124-25 Heidegger, Martin, 150, 158-59, 169, 171-72, 212, 214. See also Existentialism Henriquez Ureiia, Pedro, 46, 48, 50, 66, 79, 81, 84n, 86-87, 92, 103, 149, 189, 218; Seis emayos en busca de nuestra expresiOn, 86-87 Herder, Johann Gottfried, 99, 149 Hiperi6n group, 197

Historicism, in Ortega's thought 68· !n Frankl's thought, 98-99, 100 ; ' m Haya's thought, 125, 127; in Erro's thought, 151, 154; and Hiperi6n group, 212; in Uranga's thought, 213. See also Determinism Hitler, Adolf, 23-24 Hofl'ding, Harald, 158 Hook, Sydney, 129 Humanism, in Caso's thought, 51 ; defined by Dfez de Medina, 91 ; and Catholic thought, 97, 98, 157 ; and radicalism, 107, 108, 127, 142, 145; in Mariategui's thought, 117; and Caetro movement, 145. See also New humanism Huntington, Ellsworth, 62 Husser!, Edmund, 53, 68, 150, 158 I Iberica, Mariano, 185 Ichaso, Francieeo, 108n Idealism, in Rod6's thought, 35, 37; in Torres' thought, 42; in Caso's thought, 51 ; in lngenieros' thought, 55-56 ; in Frankl's thought, 99 ; and radical thought, 103, 116 Ideological revolution, 3, 5, 6, 218-19 Immigration, Gracfa Calder6n on, 32; Belatinde on, 185 Indians, problems of in Andean area, 8; characterized by Bunge, 16, 18; characterized by Arguedas, 20-24 passim; characterized by Garcfa Calder6n, 26, 28 ; definitions of, 60, 87-88; Rojas' attitude toward, 61 ; in Argentine culture, 62; character­ ized by Tamayo, 64-65; Dfaz regime and, 65; economic problems of, 106; Gonzalez Prada on 109, 110; in MariAtegui's thought, 113; Hays de la Torre on, 125; Bela11nde on, 184-85; characterized by Ramos, 190; Pre-Columbian, 190; Carri6n on, 210. See also lndigenism lndigenism, 103, 111, 189; definition of, 60-61 ; Reyes' critique of, 82-83; and Catholic thought, 97; and radical thought, 106-8 passim; in Mariategui's thought, 113; Orrego on, 119; and national essence, 146-47 · in Rojae' thought, 149 ; in Belatinde'� thought, 184-85 ; Ramos' critique of, 192. See also Indians Ingenieros, Jose, 29-31, 42, 54, 55-56, 70, 136, 148, 150, 218; Cr6nicas de uiaje, 30; Hacia una moral Bin dog=' 55; Proposiciones relativas al Porvenir de la filoso.fia, 56-57 ; . Soetologia argentina, 30-31

Index Instituto Internacional de Cooperaci6n Intelectual, 84

Intellectuals, role of, 4 ; increasing confidence of, 219 Irrationalism, distrust of, 54; Ingenieros' critique of, 56; Franeovich's critique of, 89; in Ramos' thought, 1 28 ; in Martfnez Estrada's thought, 133; Erro on, 157 ; in Paz's thought, 200 J James, William, 9, 44, 48 Jesuits, 98 Jews, 8, 117. See also Anti-Semitism Jimenez Rueda, Julio, 79 Journals. See Revistll8 Junco, Alfonso, 97, 98 Jung, Carl Gustav, 210 K Kafka, Franz, 140 Kant, Immanuel, 47, 48, 49 Kantor, Harry, 107n Kaufman, Walter, 52n Keyserling, Hermann Alexander, 68, 163 Kierkegaard, Soren, 132, 156, 158, 168, 172 Klages, Ludwig, 130n, 131 Kom, Alejandro, 53n, 55, 131, 150, 170 L

Las Casas, Bartolom6 de, 59n, 98, 135, 185 Lastarria, Jose V., 59n Latcham, Ricardo A., 183 Lawrence, D. H., 200 LeBon, Gustave, 14-15, 25, 28, 60 Leconte de Lisle, Charles, 9 Legufa, Augusto B., 112 Lenin, Nikolai, 112 Liberalism, defined in religious sense, 97; Frankl's critique of, 99 · Lingui�tic paleontology, 13 Linton, Ralph, 194 Lizaso, F6lix, 186 Lombardo Toledano, Vicente, 107n L6pez Velarde, Ram6n, 189, 216-17 Ludwig, Emil, 84n Lugones, Leopoldo, 35n, 79, 118, 153 M McCarthy, Mazy, 140 Mach, Ernst, 51 Maeterlinck, Maurice, 133 Maeztu, Ramiro de, 65n Magazines. See Revistas Malinche, 206 Malinowski, Bronislaw K., 203 Mallea, Eduardo, 147, 150, 153, 159-69,

239

172-73, 181, 191, 219; La eiudad junto al rio inm6vil, 160; Co?Wcimiento y e:rpresi6n de la Argentina, 160-61 ; His!oria de una pasi6n Argentina, 153, 161-67 Mafiach, Jorge, 79, 108n, 117, 186-88, 191; lndagaci6n del choteo, 18 7-88 Mann, Horace, 4 Marinetti, Emilio Filippo Tommaso, 150 Maritain, Jacques, 68, 84n, 98 Mariategui, Jose Carlos, 74-75, 81, 93, 107, 108, 111-18, 120, 127, 141, 184; El alma matinal, 113-16 p118sim; "La emoci6n de nuestro tiempo," 114; La escena contemp()Tanea, 113; Defensa del marxismo, 113, 116; Side ensayos de interpretaci6n de la realidad peruana, 113-16 Marinello, Juan, 79, 108n, 117, 118, 186 Marcel, Gabriel, 98, 215n Martf, Jose, 32-33, 59n, 104, 136, 186 Martfnez Estrada, Ezequiel, 63n, 79, 127, 132-41, 146, 150, 166, 173, 174, 177-79, 181, 218; Erro on, 153; compared with Mallea, 165; compared with Ramos, 191; Cabeza de Goliot, 133, 137, 177-78; Cuadrante del pampero, 139; "El estlmulo de vivir," 134; E:rlwrtociones, 133, 137-40, 178; Muerte y transfiguraci6n de Martin Fierro, 133, 135, 137n, 177; "El nuevo mundo, la isla de Utopia y la isla de Cub�>, " 179; Radiografia de la Pampa, 133, 135, 137, 153, 173, 179; "Tesoros velados," 133-34 "Martin Fierro" group, 180 Marxism, 103, 106, 108, 139, 142; in Ingenieros' thought, 30-31; and Indian problems, 35; Francovich's critique of, 90; Mariategui on, 115, 116-17; Orrego on, 119, 123 ; in- Haya de la Torre, 124-25, 126; and Spanish American radicals, 127; and humanism, 128; Ramos on, 130; and Martinez Estrada, 132; rejection of, 141; Murena on, 144; Bela11nde's critique of, 184 Maeks and subterfuge, 219; Murena on, 180; in Cuban character, 187 ; in Ramos' thought, 190-91 ; in Paz's thought, 203, 206, 209 ; related to me:ricanidad, 208 Menoken, Henry Lonis, 73 Mestizos, characterized by Bunge, 17; characterized by Arguedas, 2024 passim; characterized by Garcfa Calder6n, 26; problems in definition of, 60; economic prohleilli! of, 106; Martinez Estrada on, 137; Belaunde on, 184-85. See also Miscegenation

1 240

Index

Mexican-Americans, 73, 201

Mexicanidad, 146, 153, 188-217; and cubanidad, 188; early studies of, 189; pachuco as example of, 201-2

Mexico, Dfaz regime, 8, 12, 19, 32 60, 65; National Preparatory ' School, 12; pol!itivism in, 12; critique of positivism in, 44-53· National University of, 46, 67,' 78-79; revolution of 1910-17, 50, 65, 99, 107, 14!), 189, 207; indigenism in, 65; Catholic thinkers in, 98; radicalism in, 107; intellectual life in 1930's and 1940's, 195; reform of 1857, 207 ; North American invasion of 1848, 211. See also Mexican­ Americans, Mexicanidad, Mexico Citv Mexico City, society in late nineteenth century, 7 ; as intellectual center, 8 Meyerhoff, Hans, 86n, 129 Mill, John Stuart, 47 Miscegenation, in Le Bon's thought 15; in Arguedas' thought, 21, 23; in Garcfa Calder6n's thought, 25-28; in Tamayo's thought, 64; Orrego on, 123; Zea on, 196. See ctl8o Mestizos; Mulattoes Mistral, Gabriela (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga) 66, 67n, 79, 117 Moderni8mo, 35n; and society, 9; and arielismo, 41; Erro's critique of, 153 Molina, Enrique, 53-55, 57; Filosofia americana, 54 Montaigne, Michel de, 10 Montalvo, Juan, 96 More, Federico, 111 More, Thomas, 179 Morel6n, Angelina C. de, 209 Morris, William, 140 Mulattoes, Bunge's characterization of, 17; Garcia Calder6n's charac­ terization of, 26; and radical thought, 108. See also Miscegenation Murena, Hector Andr�s, 81, 133, 136, 139, 141, 143-43, 179-81, 218; "El estridor del conformismo," 143-44, 181; El pecado original de Amt rica, 136, 180-81 MUBBO!ini, Benito, 112 Myth, and radicalism, 113, 114, 115, 118; Paz on, 203-4, 206-7; in Carri6n's thought, 210 •

N National soul, as used by Le Bon, 14; in Garcfa Calder6n's thought, 27-28; and ontology, 213. See also

Argentinidad ; Cubanidad; Mexicanidad; Peruanidad; Ontology

241

Index

Nativism. See lndigenism, Nativism vs. universalism Nativism vs. universalism, 100 146 150, 219-20; in Reyes' thodght ' 85-86; in Francovich's thought' 90· in Dfez de Medina's thought 92· ' in Erro's thought, 151; in Chile, ' 183; in Ramos' thought, 192-93· in Reyes' thought, 194-95; in Z�a's thought, 196; in Paz's thought 208· ' ' in Uranga's thought, 214 Nazism, 170 Negroes, Le Bon's characterization of, 15; Bunges characterization of, 16-17; Garcfa Calder6n on, 26, 28· Ingenieros' characterizatio� of, 30· in Frank's thought, 77; economic ' problems of, 106; and radical thought 108; Orrego on, 123 New humanism, 173, 220; and radical thcught, 104; in Orrego, 119: Ramos on, 128-29. See also Humanism Novomundismo. See American destiny, Americanism Neruda, Pablo, 6.1n, 93, 181, 201 Niet.zsche, Friedrich, 9, 42, 47, 48 92 1�8; in arielista thought, 44; i� ' Sterra's thought, 45; in Caso's thought, 50, 52; Jngenieros' critique of, 56n; Erro on, 152 Nin Frias, Alberto, 39, 41n, 42-43 Nordau, Max, 43 North America. See United States Northrop, F. S. C., 196 Novalia (Hardenberg, Friedrich von), 199 0

Ocampo, Victoria, 79 Onfs, Federico de, 96 Ontology, Mallea on, 168; and mexicanidad, 1 97; and HiperiCn group, 212; compared with national soul concept, 213; in Uranga's thought, 213-15 Oppenheim, James, 73 Orrego, Antenor, 81, 107, 108, 118-24, 147; on Ortega's importance, 72; compared with Haya, 124; and peruanidad, 183; El pueblo continente, 119-23 Ortega y Gasset, Jos�, 29n, 56, 67-72, 97, 112, 130n, 151, 169, 170, 211, 212, 213; compared with Frank, 80; in Uriel Garcfa's thought, 88; in Orrego's thought, 119. 20; and Haya de Ia Torre, 124, 126; and Romero, 131 ; Erro on, 159; in Zea's thought, 195; "Carta a un joven argentino que estudia filosoffa," 67; EspaiUJ invertebrada, 68; "Hegel y America,"

67, 70, 110; "El origen deportivo del estado," 171; "La pampa . . . promesaR," 67, 71-72 Ortiz, Fernando, 186 Ostwald, Wilhelm, 51 p

Papini, Giovanni, 112 Paraguay, 98, 100 Paran§. Normal School, 12 Parmenides, 171

Partido Revolucionario Institucional

(PRI), 107 Pascal, Blaise, 134 Paz, Octavio, 63n, 74, 108, 146, 197208, 216, 219; influence of, 209; in Carri6n's thought, 211 ; in Uranga's thought, 212; El arco y la lira, 204; El laberinto de la soledad, 197, 201-9; "Vigilias: Fragmentos del diario de un soi'iador," 198, 200 P�guy, Charles, 135, 156 Peirce, Charles Sanders, 48 Per6n, Juan, 179 Peronistas, 139 Peru, university reform in, 4, 124; Catholic thinkers in, 98; radicalism in, 106-27 passim ; economic problems of, 112; Comit� de Propa­ ganda Socialista, 112; intellectual life in, 185-86. See also Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana; Peruanidad Peruanido:l, 146, 183-86 Phenomenology, 53, 130n, 169, 186

Philosophical anthropology, 129-30, 141, 170 Pic6n Salas, Mariano, 59n, 92-95, 166, 218; "Americanismo y aut6ctonismo," 94; Buscando el camino, 92; Europa­ A mtrica : Preguntas a Ia esfinge de la cultura, 94-95; Hispano­ Am�rica posicion cr£tica, 93

Poe, Edgar Allan, 75 Poincare, Jule" Henri, 51 Positivism, reaction against, 5, 34-57 passim ; dominance of in nineteenth century, 7, 12; in Bunge's thought, 19; Caso's critique of, 51; Frankl's critique of, 99; in Gonzalez Prada's thought, 109; Mallea on, 165; Ramos' critique of, 192; general critique of, 218 Prada, Manuel Gonzalez. See Gonz:Hez Prada, Manuel Pre-Raphaelites, 43 Progress, critique of 5, 10, 35, 44, 59, 103-4; in nineteenth century, 7; Ingenieros on, 57; Mariategui on, 114; Mallea on, 165

Psychoanalytic methods, and national e�sence, 146, 190; Ramos' use of, 190-91 ; Paz on, 199; in Carri6n's thought, 210, 212 Puritans, 117 Q Quiroga, Horacio, 117 R Race and racial theory, 12-33 passim; in Rojas' thought, 62; in Vasconcelos' thought, 66. See also Miscegenation, Racism Racism, 42, 218; critique of, 43, 219; and indigenism, 61 ; Tamayo on, 64; Reyes on, 83; Francovich on, 90; in Mariategui's thought, 113; of U.S. criticized, 212 Radicalism, 102-45, 218; relatio!' to arielismo, 41; in Cuba, 108; m Martinez Estrada, 132-41 passim; Belaunde's critique of, 184; in Paz's thought, 199. See also Communism and Communists; Marxism Ramos, Samuel, 127-31, 141, 215, 190-94· praised by Pic6n Salas, 94; Paz's debt to, 201 ; compared with Paz, 202-5; Carri6n's debt to, 211; Hacia un nuevo humanismo, 128-29; El perfil del hombre y Ia cultura en Mb:ico, 128, 190-94

Rank, Otto, 190, 199 Relativism, 116, 151 Relativity, 124-25, 126 . Religion, in Caso's thought, 51; m 115-16; 114, , Mari§.tegui's thought in APRA ideology, 118 ; Murena on, 143-44 Renan, Joseph Ernest, 34, 40n, 411!', 47, 109 Revistas : Abside, 98; Avance, 78, 108n, 186; Amauta, 75, 107, 119, 122; . Barandal, 198; Bolivar, 98; Clartdad, 108n 150; El Cojo Ilustrado, 38, 39; Cont;mporaneos, 79, 193; Crisol, 107, 198; Criterio, 98; Critica, 78; Cuadernos, 143, Cuadernos Americanos, 126; Filasof1.a y Letras, 209; El Hijo Prodigo, 198; Inicial, 150, 170; Mar del Sur, 186; Martfn Fierro, 150; Mercurio Peruano, 98, 183, 186; Nosotros, 39, 133; Proa, 150; El Repertorio Americano, 74, 117· Revista Bimestre Cubana, 186; Revista de America (Buenos Aires), 149 150; Revista de Amlrica (Paris), 29, 7o, 148; Revi.,ta de Occidente, 67, 68, 80, 131, 169; Revi8!a Moderna, 45, 46; Ruta, 198; Saui.a Moderna,

242

Index

47; Sfntesis, 78, 150, 171; Sur, 79, 172, 173; TaUer, 198; Valoraciones, 150; Vida Literaria, 150 Reyes, Alfonso, 39n, 50, 74, 79, 81, 82-86, 92, 101, 166, 189, 194-95, 218, 219; acquaintance with Ortega, 69-70; on Ortega, 72; acquaintance with Frank, 74-75; compared with Pic6n Salas, 95; compared with Ramos, 190; Ramos on, 192; "Discurso por Virgilio," 81, 82-83, 194; "Notas sobre Ia inteligencia americana," 84-85; "Posici6n de Am�rica," 81, 84-85, 194; "Visi6n de AnAhuac," 83-,S4, 194 Reyes, Bernardo, 39 Rilke, Rainer Maria, 137, 177 Rimbaud. Arthur, 108 Ritter, Karl, 100 Rivera, Diego, 94, 107 Rivera, Jos� Eustacio, 181 R6a, Raul, 108n Robles, Oswaldo, 98 Rod6, Jo� Enrique, 10, 25, 35-46, 56, 72, 103, 192, 218; relation to Ateneo writers, 46-47 ; compared with Frank, 75; Dlez de Medina's critique of, 91 ; Pic6n Salas' critique of, 93-94; on United States, 105; Ariel, 36-38, 105; "Liberalismo y jacobinismo," 38, 41n, 46; Los motivos de Proteo, 37-38. See also

Arielismo

Rodriguez de Francia, Gaspar, 100 Rodriguez Monegal, Emir, 136n Rojas, Ricardo, 30, 61-63, 64, 67, 74, 80, 147-49, 150, 218; compared with Reyes, 84; Erro's critique of, 151; compared with Mallea, 163; La argentinidad, 147; Blason de plata, 147, 148; Eurindia, 62, 147, 149;

Historia de la literatura argentina,

14 7; La restauracion nacionalista, 147 Rolland, Romain, 112, 127, 142 Romains, Jules, 84n .. Romero, Francisco, 84n, 127, 129, 131-32, 150, 170; Filosoj{a de la pergona, 131 Rosas, Juan Manuel, 18, 175 Roto, 22, 182 Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 135 Russell, Bertrand, 151

s Sahagt1n, Bernardo de, 50n St. Augustine, 154 Salazar Bondy, Augusto, 186n Sanchez, Luis Alberto, 79, 81 Sanchez Villasenor, Jos�, 98 Sanln Cano, Baldomero, 84n, 117

Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino, 4, 59n, 63, 100, 136, 147, 174; attitude toward U.S., 104; contrasted with Rojas, 148; Martinez Estrada on, 177, 178 Sartre, Jean Paul, 103n, 172, 212 Scheler, Max, 85n, 142, 150; in Reyes' thought, 85-86; in Ramos' thought, 129-30, 192; influence of in Argentina, 131 ; in Caso's thought, 187-88 Schopenhauer, Arthur, 47-50 passim; 52, 56n, 133 Scientism, 189, 192, 218; in Bunge's thought, 19; reaction against, 24, 29, 32, 34-59 passim; and indigenist thought, 61 ; Tamayo's critique of, 63; Pic6n Salas' critique of, 92; Frankl's critique of, 99; and radical thought, 103; in Gonzalez Prada's thought, 110; Mariategui's critique of, 116; and Hays de Ia Torre, 127; Erro on, 157 Sebreli, J. J., 133, 139, 179; Martinez Estrad.a, una rebeliOn inutil, 134 Shaw, George Bernard, 132 Sierra, Justo, 31-32, 44-46 Silva Vald�s, Fernan, 153 Simmel, Georg, 187 Socialism, 105-6 Social organicism, and the "sick con­ tinent," 12-13; in Le Bon's thought, 15; in Garcia Calder6n's thought, 25; in Ingenieros' thought, 30; persistence of, 54. See also Darwinism "Sociocracy, " 54 Socrates, 144 Solitude and communion, 219; in Mallea's thought, 161-62, 163, 167; in Murena's thought, 181; in Paz's thought, 199, 200, 202, 203-5, 209 Sombart, Werner, 129 Sorel, Georges, 112, 113 Soto, Luis E., 148, 149 Spain, defeat of 1898, 10, 12; Gonzalez Prada's critique of, 109; Belaunde on, 185; Civil War of 1936-39, 200 ; in Paz's thought, 207 Spaniards, Bunge's characterization of, 16; Arciniegas' characterization of, 97; Carri6n on, 210, 211 Spencer, Herbert, 9, 33, 34, 42, 100, 150; and Mexican positivism, 7 ; in lngenieros' thought, 30; Caso's critique of, 60. See also Darwinism; Social organicism Spengler, Oswald, 68, 79, 90, 98, 112, 126, 127, 151, 152, 170. See also Historicism Steinbeck, John, 4 Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle), 56n

243

Index Stern, Alfred, 129 Striner, Max, 47, 50, 51 Student groups, 3, 4. See also Uni­ versity reform movement Subercaseaux, Benjamin, 182 Surrealism and surrealists, 108, 198, 200

Uranga, Emilio, 188, 197, 209, 212-17 ; Andlisis del ser del mexicano, 209, 212-16 Uriel Garcia, Jose, 81, 87-88; El nuevo indio, 87-88

v T Tablada, Jos� Juan, 74 Taine, Hippolyte, 47, 100 Tamayo, Franz, 61, 63-65, 67, 81, 88, 91, 103; La creacion de la pedogogta nacional, 63-65 Technology, distrust of, 5, 10, 35, 37; Frank's critique of, 76-78, 80; Ortega's distrust of, 80; Gonzalez Prada on, 109, 110; Paz's critique

of, 199 Telluricism, in Frankl's thought, 100; in Orrego, 122; in Martfnez Estrada, 138; in Rojas' thought, 149; in Mallea's thought, 163, 169; in Canal Feij6o's thought, 173. See also City vs. country; Determinism; Environmentalism Thoreau, Henry David, 136 Torchia Estrada, Juan Carlos, 170n Torres, Carlos Arturo 39, 42, 105 Toynbee, Arnold, 98, 125n Transcendentalists, 117 Trotsky, Leon, 113

u Ugarte, Manuel, 13, 40, 105, 106; El destino de un continente, 106 Unamuno, Miguel de, 39n, 67, 116, 132, 156, 168 United States, fear of in Spanish America, 10, 26, 40; admired, 24, . 66n · general critique of, 36-37, 104, 105 106, 108; Frank's critique of, 78; Reyes on, 85; D!ez �e Me na's critique of, 90, 92; Manategw. on, 117; Zea on, 196; Carri6n's critique of, 212 Universities, role in national life, 3; in Cuba, 4; in Mexico, 46, 51, 67, 78-79; in Peru, 67, 124. See also University reform moveme';lt . University reform movement, m MeXIco, 67· in Peru, 67n, 124; Pic6n Salas on 93; Rojas on, 149 Untermeyer, Louis, 73 Utopianism, 219; in Martinez Estrada, 141n, 179; in Mallea's thought, 166. See also American destiny

;

:

�

Valera, Juan, 39n Vallejo, C�sar, 111 Vasconcelos, Jo�, 45, 50, 61, 67, 74, 80, 93, 99, 100, 103, 107, 189, 218; describes Ateneo spirit, 47; con­ trasted with Caso, 48 ; and Caso's thought, 53; influence of, 65-66; Reyes on, 83; religious thought of, 97; Mariategui on, 117; Rojas on, 149; and mexicanidad, 193-94 ; "Don Gabino Barreda y las ideas contemporaneas," 48-49 ; Indolog{a, 66; La raza c6smica, 66 Vaz Ferreira, Carlos, 53n Veblen, Thorstein, 36 Vico, Giambattista, 127 Villa, Francisco, 211 Villegas, Abelardo, 193, 196, 197, 209n; Filosofla de lo mexicano, 197 Virgin of Guadalupe, 207, 211 Vtlloro, Luis, 215 VU'880ro, Miguel Angel, 150, 170-7 1 ; "El problema de I a cultura y Ia nueva sensibilidad," 170; "Una teorla del yo como cultura," 171 Vitalism, 49; in Caso's thought, 5� ; lngenieros' critique of, 56-57 ; m Ortega's thought, 68; Mariategui on, 116; in Virasoro's thought,

170-71 Voluntarism, 48, 49; in Caso's thought, 51-53; in Tamayo's thought, 63 ; , and radical thought, 103; Romero on, 131

w Wagner de Reyna, Alberto, 98, 186 Wahl, Jean, 159 Ward, Lester F., 54 War of the Pacific, 109 Weil, Simone, 135, 139, 142 Whitman, Walt, 73, 75 Wilde, Oscar, 9, 43 Wilson, Woodrow, 5 World War II, 193

y Yunque, Alvaro, 108n

244

Index z

Zamora, Antonio, 108n Zapata, Emiliano, 65, 211 Zea, Leopoldo, 81, 99n, 209, 215; on Ortega., 72n; influence on younger writers, 195, 196-97

Zumeta, C�ssr, 13, 38 Zum Felde, Alberto, 170; critique of Arguedss, 23; on arieli8mo, 39; critique of Rojas, 147 Zols, Emile, 9, 36 Zweig, Stefan, 84n